[Aside from the intriguing experiment results, this story from Scientific American is notable for raising the prospect of “real-world, bot-assisted company meetings” along with the ethical challenges of using AI and medium-as-social-actor presence to manipulate human beings. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Sarah Holmlund Getty Images] Pushy AI Bots Nudge Humans to Change Behavior Researchers use artificially intelligent bot programs to stimulate collaboration and make people more effective By Richard Conniff on May 17, 2017 When people work together on a project, they often come to think they’ve figured out the problems in their own respective spheres. If trouble persists, it’s somebody…

[The new robot toy described in this story from Mashable replicates, some would say eerily, a (fictional) animated character in Pixar’s Cars movies and so is very likely to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence, especially in young children. See the original story for a 1:30 minute video, many pictures, and a link to a recent story about the Sphero BB-8 toy that ‘watches’ Star Wars movies with you and moves and ‘speaks’ in response to key scenes and characters. –Matthew] This Ultimate Lightning McQueen robot is awesomely real By Lance Ulanoff May 24, 2017 Pixar’s original Cars movie worked because you believed…

[This interesting article from The New Yorker explores the application of environmental psychology to the design of presence experiences for the workplace. See also a 2014 ISPR Presence News post about virtual windows. –Matthew] [Image: Mure VR, an Icelandic startup, hopes to cure the workplace doldrums using the power of fake nature. Courtesy Breakroom] The Virtual-Reality App That Turns Your Office Into A Vacation Paradise By Dawn Chan May 30, 2017 The British writer Charles Lamb was no stranger to workplace-induced despair. In 1792, to make ends meet, he took a job as a bookkeeper at the East India Company,…

[There are lots of examples of technologies designed to evoke presence in the ‘Home of the Future’ described in this story from Advertising Age. The original story includes a large photo gallery, there’s a 3:24 minute 360 video tour on Vimeo, you can explore the Home in interactive 360 images or VR at the Home of the Future website, and the press release is available from Unruly. –Matthew] Marketers Take a Trip to 2020 in News Corp.’s Home of the Future By Emma Hall. Published on May 11, 2017. A wardrobe that matches your outfit to the weather forecast.…

[The tool described in this story from Motherboard addresses, and hopefully will raise awareness about, a key ethical challenge of evolving presence-evoking technologies: the obligation to make presence experiences voluntary. It reminds me of the tools, such as ad skipping features in DVRs, developed in the conflicting efforts of advertisers to reach consumers and consumers to avoid forced exposure to advertising messages, but with potentially much more far-reaching consequences. –Matthew] [Image: Flickr/Abode of Chaos] This Dystopian Wearable Detects AIs Pretending to Be Humans The ‘Anti-AI AI’ will literally send a chill down your spine. Jordan Pearson May 26, 2017 As…

[A treatment that uses presence to treat schizophrenia is yielding promising results, as reported in this story from CBC News (where it includes four more images and related links). –Matthew] [Image: The Philippe-Pinel Institute’s pilot project has patients such as Richard Breton designing and facing their inner demons with the help of virtual reality technology. (Radio-Canada)] Montreal schizophrenia patients face their demons through virtual reality New experimental treatment has patients interact with avatars they design to reflect what they see and hear CBC News May 23, 2017 A pilot project at Montreal’s Philippe-Pinel Institute has patients with schizophrenia confronting voices…