[The story below from MSN describes two different uses of AI chatbots that evoke medium-as-social-actor presence, one use directly for the healthcare of seniors and the other to indirectly support the care by freeing up the time of caregivers. See the original version of the story for more pictures and related information, and if you have access, see the related Wall Street Journal story “The friendly caller who’s helping seniors feel less lonely.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Wall Street Journal. Credit: Getty Images] How voice AI can slash healthcare clinicians’ workloads — and offer companionship for older adults By Effie WebbJune…

[The article below from Salon is a fascinating review of several theories from philosophy, psychology and neuroscience about how the human brain perceives our physical and psychological “self,” including some of the ways (tele)presence-evoking technologies can alter those perceptions. –Matthew] [Image: Young woman next to lighttrace face, wearing VR glasses, looking closely at the lightrace rendering. Credit: Getty Images/Henrik Sorensen] Technology is breaking our concept of the self. It could help us heal the mind Virtual reality is digging up age-old questions about who we are. That has profound implications for neuroscience By Elizabeth Hlavinka, Staff WriterPublished May 26, 2025;…

[An experience VR expert describes a (psychologically!) impactful presence experience in this first-person story from UploadVR. The original story includes a 1:10 minute video of the author’s experience and a 1:44 minute promotional video from the company that created the simulation (that video is also available on YouTube). For more information, see the Logilicity LinkedIn page and website (originally in Japanese). See also the entry for the Bungee Dive app for Meta headsets in the Meta Store. –Matthew] VR Bungee Jumping Simulation Tips You Over In Real Life At AWE By Don HopperJune 11, 2025 The show floor of Augmented…

[The Sports Business Journal story below about a new immersive online merchandise store intended to evoke spatial and social presence, builds on the contents of a press release available from Globe Newswire as well as the Infinity Reality website; the press release includes this: “’Sports fans today crave deeper connections with their favorite clubs beyond traditional media,’ said Sam Huber, CEO of MENA and Global President of Enterprise at Infinite Reality. ‘Benfica is redefining the online fan experience—combining immersive 3D environments, seamless commerce, and AI-powered personalization to deliver engagement at global scale. This model allows any team, club, athlete, or…

[It may seem like a small thing, but the addition of virtual objects that persist from one mixed reality session to the next for Apple Vision Pro users is likely to enhance (spatial) presence. Details are in this story from TechRadar, where the original version includes two more pictures. This is just one of several updates coming to Apple’s spatial computing platform that are likely to improve presence; for details on the others see separate coverage from TechRadar. –Matthew] Apple Vision Pro is getting the Meta Quest 3 feature I was most excited for – and that still hasn’t launched…

[There’s no discussion of how workers or customers will respond to them in this short, link-filled story from Futurism, but it’s clear that if Amazon’s investments in humanoid robots and AI software (and augmented reality) come to fruition as planned, we’ll soon be living among human-like robots sure to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence. Note that the story by The Information is behind a paywall at this writing. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Getty/Futurism] Amazon Testing Humanoid Robots to Ride in Vans, Hand-Deliver Packages “Humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles are a must have for Amazon.” By Joe WilkinsJune 6, 2025 Amazon drivers have a…

[Presence-evoking virtual reality is increasingly being used for training workers; here’s an interesting example of the breadth of such applications in a story from Pennsylvania’s Lancaster Farming. The original version of the story includes a link to earlier coverage about the prospects of using augmented reality to “speed up and improve veterinary care” and repair farm equipment. It would be useful to compare the effectiveness of the proposed VR training with more traditional online resources such as those offered by The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Dairy Program. –Matthew] [Image: People playing a virtual reality video game at Ag…

[As reported first in this story from 404 Media, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration are considering the use of presence-evoking technologies that would allow agents to “pat down and feel airline passengers” without actually touching them, which raises significant questions and concerns about the ethical use of presence. See the original version of the story for four more images. –Matthew] [Image: A screenshot from the patent application that explains how a “Haptic Feedback Algorithm” would map a person’s body] TSA Working on Haptic Tech To ‘Feel’ Your Body in Virtual Reality The tech would “detect…

[Google has renamed the telepresence system it’s been developing. Project Starline is now called Google Beam and will become available, at least to businesses, later in 2025. The first-person report below from CNET provides details on and impressions about Google Beam and the latest improvements in the presence experience it provides users (described with a variety of presence-related terms including immersion and connection). See the original version of the story for a 1:14 minute video (also available from CNET here). –Matthew] Google Beam Brings More Natural Video Conversations Within Reach Formerly known as Project Starline, the tech turns video calls…

[This story from the University of Georgia’s UGA Today describes another application of presence for training, in this case for working with other presence-evoking technologies. See the original version of the story for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: The virtual reality rendering of what participants see in the VR Co-Lab] VR could help train employees working with robots Virtual reality gives workers an immersive digital environment to practice complex tasks By Sydney BarrilleauxJune 3, 2025 Working with robots is becoming more common in the recycling industry, helping automate tasks and making complicated work easier.  But training human employees to work…

[This first-person review of a new Formula 1 racing simulator Arcade in Center City Philadelphia (the largest entry in a growing global franchise), includes some interesting insights about what consumers want in an out-of-home presence experience. See the original version of the story from The Philadelphia Inquirer via MSN for four more images. A different MSN story notes that “with nearly 30 additional U.S. venues planned over the next five years, the [F1] brand is rapidly expanding to meet demand for experiential, design-driven spaces.” –Matthew] [Image: The interior of the new F1 Arcade in Center City. Credit: Jose F. Moreno/The…

[While virtual reality is known for creating the misperception that no technology is involved in the user’s experience, augmented reality, disembodied and embodied robots, and a growing number of other technologies can create more nuanced misperceptions that also overlook the roles of technology in mediated experiences. According to the Mashable story below, with the release of a new Google AI model called Veo 3, we need to add videos created with generative artificial intelligence to this latter group of presence-evoking technologies. The new AI videos are said to be so realistic that most people won’t be able to distinguish them…