International Society
for Presence Research

Author: Matthew Lombard

  • Virtual reality: A ‘flight simulator’ for dental students

    Published:

    [This story from New York University (NYU) provides a vivid example of how presence-evoking technologies can be more effective than traditional training tools and methods, in this case in the field of dentistry. The flight simulator comparison is a compelling way to emphasize their role and value. Also note (in the last section) the development of more realistic custom controllers to enhance presence. See the original story for five more images. –Matthew] [Image: NYU dental student Kaitlyn Re (right) practices giving an injection alongside fellow student Dhwani Thakkar (left). Credit: Jonathan King] Virtual Reality: A ‘Flight Simulator’ for Dental Students…

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  • Call: “Communication and Artificial Intelligence” issue of Communication and Society

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    Call for Papers “Communication and Artificial Intelligence”Communication and Society Journalhttps://nordmedianetwork.org/latest/call-for-papers/call-for-papers-communication-and-artificial-intelligence/ Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2025 Thematic Editors: Alberto Sá (CECS, Universidade do Minho, Portugal) and Luis Miguel Pedrero (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Spain) Artificial intelligence stands as one of the foremost technological challenges of our time. With its considerable benefits in performing numerous tasks and processing vast amounts of information, the automation enabled by artificial intelligence has been acknowledged as a means to enhance productivity, minimise human error, conserve resources, and boost operational efficiency. Across sectors such as industry and healthcare, artificial intelligence is regarded with optimism, representing a…

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  • VR (and presence) to enhance Purdue U. Hospitality and Tourism Management courses

    Published:

    [A professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management is exploring another application of presence-evoking virtual reality for enhancing students’ learning experiences, and presumably outcomes. As a doctoral student in this story from Purdue University notes, “I think the biggest gap VR devices can help overcome, especially for HTM students, is the distance between the classroom and the real workplace.” See the original version of the story for five more images. –Matthew] [Image: Shawn Jung, assistant professor in the White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, instructs his event planning class before attempting virtual reality exercises last spring in…

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  • Call: Sound on Screen IV conference

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    Call for Papers: Sound on Screen IVJune 24-26, 2025Online / Oxford Brookes Universityhttp://commlist.org/archive/all/2024-all/msg01759.html Deadline for submission of abstracts and bios: January 24, 2025 PLEASE NOTE THE UPDATED FORMAT AND DATES: The conference will now be fully online on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th June for individual papers, and in-person and hybrid on Thursday 26th June. For the final day, we invite three-paper panel proposals on any topic and position papers on the broader discipline and direction of screen music and sound studies. Individual papers are warmly invited for the opening two days only. The Sound on Screen research network at…

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  • Virtual reality might finally be socially acceptable

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    [This short essay from How-To Geek provides an important reminder about how far attitudes among the general public have come toward the use of the most well-known presence-evoking technology. See the original version of the story for three more images. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Might Finally Be Socially Acceptable By Sydney Butler, Editor, Hardware and Cutting Edge TechnologyNovember 27, 2024 When I first tried modern VR in 2016, it was a niche technology that drew plenty of mainstream ridicule. Today, things are very different, and no one has to be embarrassed about having a good time in a virtual world anymore.…

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  • Call: HHAI 2025: 4th International Conference Series on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence

    Published:

    [See the HHAI 2025 website for additional calls. –Matthew] Call for Papers HHAI 2025: The 4th International Conference Series on Hybrid Human-Artificial IntelligenceJune 9-13, 2025Pisa, Italyhttps://hhai-conference.org/2025/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: January 17, 2025 (paper submission: January 24, 2025) Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence (HHAI) is an international conference series that focuses on the study of Artificial Intelligence systems that cooperate synergistically, proactively and purposefully with humans, amplifying instead of replacing human intelligence. HHAI aims for AI systems that work together with humans, emphasizing the need for adaptive, collaborative, responsible, interactive and human-centered intelligent systems. HHAI systems leverage human strengths and compensate…

    Read more: Call: HHAI 2025: 4th International Conference Series on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence

  • Dad who wanted to be a pilot builds incredible real-life simulator at home – now his daughter’s obsessed

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    [The allure of presence is well-illustrated in this story from the Good News Network, supplemented by text from coverage by The Yorkshire Post. The original versions of both stories include a second image; the Good News Network story includes a 1:52 minute summary video (also available on YouTube) and the story in The Yorkshire Post includes a 1:28 minute video of Craig Cullingworth and Sophie operating the simulator (that video is also available on Facebook). –Matthew] [Image: Credit: SWNS] Dad Who Wanted to be a Pilot Builds Incredible Real-Life Simulator at Home–Now his Daughter’s Obsessed (Watch) By Good News NetworkNovember…

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  • Call: “(Re)Imagining AI Interventions – Intervening (into) AI Imaginaries” for Imaginations Journal

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    Call for Proposals: (Re)Imagining AI Interventions /// Intervening (into) AI ImaginariesSpecial issue of Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studieshttps://imaginationsjournal.ca/index.php/imaginations/cfps Deadline for submission of abstracts: January 15, 2025 (papers due June 1, 2025) In an age of endless disruption, how do we live with the rapid advances and early analyses of artificial intelligence software, moral panic, and the voracious consumption of already oppressive datasets and social relations? We have already seen some deep scholarly engagement with issues of ethical database scraping and intellectual property violations (Crawford 2021; Delfanti & Phan 2024; Luka & Millette 2018), environmental impacts (Hogan & Lepage-Richer 2024;…

    Read more: Call: “(Re)Imagining AI Interventions – Intervening (into) AI Imaginaries” for Imaginations Journal

  • Lollipop-shaped lickable devices could make for flavorful extended-reality environments

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    [I doubt any technology on the horizon will be able to fully replicate the experience of eating pumpkin pie with whipped cream or other traditional Thanksgiving dishes, but this story from IEEE Spectrum describes a new device that improves on earlier attempts to enhance presence by adding taste and smell to sight, sound and touch sensations while in virtual and mixed reality environments. See the original version of the story for a second image; see Ars Technica for additional details and a 57-second video; and see November 2013 and March 2017 posts from ISPR Presence News for more information about…

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  • Call: Methodological Approaches to Digital Spaces (MADS), a free hybrid symposium

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    Call for Papers Methodological Approaches to Digital Spaces (MADS)A FREE Research SymposiumApril 9, 2025The University of Manchester, UK and onlinehttps://mads2025.com/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: January 3, 2025 Today’s digital world is increasingly complex. Amidst contexts which include emergent privacy concerns, new methodologies for collecting data, and innovative forms and mediums of digital art, we see an opportunity to gather those who examine such online spaces and learn from our interrelated research. We have accordingly organised MADS (Methodological Approaches to Digital Spaces), a FREE interdisciplinary symposium launched under the guidance and funding of NWCDTP to promote methodological and ontological advancements…

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  • AI can now create a replica of your personality

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    [Researchers from Stanford University and Google DeepMind have demonstrated a new, efficient technique requiring only a two-hour data-gathering interview to replicate the personality of a human being as an AI agent. The story below from MIT Technology Review provides details, including the predictable positive and potentially negative applications of the medium-as-social-actor presence the agents would likely evoke. Coverage in The Register highlights the latter this way: “Why bother? Well, there’s some interest in AI models that behave like specific people, whether that involves repeating things the person said or a more generalized simulacrum that provides responses which seem to be…

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  • Call: “Dark and Unethical Visual Politics” issue of Journal of Visual Political Communication

    Published:

    Call for Papers Journal of Visual Political Communication“Dark and Unethical Visual Politics” (Early 2026)http://commlist.org/archive/all/2024-all/msg01723.html Deadline for submissions: April 30, 2025 Visual Politics has gained significant prominence in recent years due to a series of controversial and unethical uses. Framing political actors, depicting contentious or satirical images, whether to build a positive interpretation or to mock authority, has always constituted a strategic and persuasive repertoire for political communication. Historically, the image was often seen as the last threshold for distinguishing facts from fakes. However the digital environment has reconfigured this status, drawing increased attention to malicious uses of images and their…

    Read more: Call: “Dark and Unethical Visual Politics” issue of Journal of Visual Political Communication

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