[In this link-filled story from Monash Lens, a doctoral candidate at Monash University in Australia explores some of the serious dangers created by increasingly convincing and easy-to-create sexualized deepfake videos and romantic interactions with chatbots. The story includes some of the author’s findings from her own research interviews with young people on the topic. See the original version of this story for a second image, a video, and links to a related story and two podcast episodes. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Image: E+/Getty Images] From deepfakes to chatbots: How AI is reinforcing sexual entitlement, fuelling abuse By Ruby Sciberras, PhD Candidate,…

[This story from EdTech Magazine describes how people at four different universities are using presence-evoking technologies to teach their students essential soft skills including interpersonal communication, collaboration and adaptability. See the original version of the story for a second image and graphical features. –Matthew] How VR and AI Improve Soft Skills Development Higher education institutions are turning to training technologies to bridge soft-skills gaps among students. By Alexander Slagg, a freelance writer specializing in technology and education. He is an ongoing contributor to the CDW family of magazinesFebruary 20, 2026 Are today’s college graduates prepared for the demands of the…

[The Humane Handling Institute at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is using an augmented reality system that simulates the visual perception of different animals. The goals are to build empathy among students and livestock handlers and ultimately “create low-stress environments for livestock, which is better for the animals and makes operations [anywhere livestock are handled] run more smoothly.” –Matthew] [Image: UW-River Falls student Natalie Furhman navigates a cattle chute wearing Animal Eye Simulator augmented reality goggles while UWRF Humane Handling Institute (HHI) Program Manager Ashlynn Kirk watches the simulator’s display on a laptop computer. Credit: Pat Deninger] Through a cow’s…

[TechRadar draws on a report from the U.S. Department of Defense (which has been calling itself the Department of War), for this story about a new use the military has developed for presence-evoking Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality headsets. See the DoW report for more images and details, including this: “From a conference room back in Aviano, Air Force Airman 1st Class Delaney Boehm, a 724th AMS aircraft services specialist, guided the personnel in Vicenza through the joint inspection, circling areas on her screen that she wanted them to focus on.‘It was a great experience that showcased our squadrons’ innovative approach…

[Although most of us have received advertising and other business mail written and even printed to mimic a personal letter, this story from Futurism describes how the AI company Handwrytten and its competitors are taking the tactic to a new level by offering a service in which robots compose and ‘hand’-write (even in the purchaser’s cursive style) what seem like personal letters such as thank you notes and birthday cards. The goal is to save the purchaser time and effort while leading recipients to overlook the role of technology in the process. –Matthew] [Image: Credits: Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins /…

[In what sounds like an impressive campus-wide interdisciplinary program at the University of Central Florida, faculty from the UCF College of Medicine mentored undergraduate students studying engineering and computer science as the students developed two innovative tools that use presence-evoking technologies to expand and improve medical education. Details about each project are described in the story below (see the original version for a second image). –Matthew] [Image: Senior computer science students pose with their clinical imaging app project and Knightro at the College of Engineering and Computer Science Fall 2025 Senior Design Showcase] Student Research Expands Medical Education in Virtual…

[In a new review that appears in the Vernon Morning Star, a fine arts student describes the presence-evoking experiences available in an unusual art museum in a small town in British Columbia that features installations by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller (the reviewer uses the term presence to refer to a focus on one’s environment, mediated or not): “In a converted furniture warehouse in the North Okanagan, internationally renowned artists transform sound into an immersive experience of memory, time, and presence. … I found it resonated deeply with me that the exhibition prioritizes experience over linear narrative. Being there…

[Jase Bernhardt, a professor at Hofstra University in New York state, has spearheaded the development of a virtual reality simulator to help drivers learn what to do when they encounter snow squalls. This short story is from WTAJ, the CBS television station in Altoona, Pennsylvania; see the original version for a 2:11 minute video report (which is also available on YouTube). You can watch a user’s view of the simulator in a 2:51 minute YouTube Short video.  More details about the project can be found in a CBS New York story from November 2025, a picture gallery in the York…

[Ian McKellen and three other actors are featured in a new mixed reality play in New York. The origins and characteristics of the use of presence-evoking mixed reality are described in the story from The Guardian below; see the original version for two more images and a two-minute video (also available on YouTube). The From the Mezzanine podcast also has a video short on YouTube. A New Yorker article about the veteran actor McKellen notes that even he experienced presence as an audience member: “’An Ark’ was so lifelike that he had instinctively reached out his hand when one of…

[Here is a significantly abridged version of what turns out to be a very moving story from the New York Times about the positive impacts of medium-as-social-actor presence evoked by an AI-based robot called ElliQ, which was designed to help seniors stay healthy and independent. See the original, complete version of the story for 21 more pictures (a few of which are animated). For more about ElliQ, visit elliq.com. For a related story, see “AI robot ‘Navi’ helps seniors stay independent at Judson Senior Living: See it in action” from Cleveland’s NBC TV station WKYC. –Matthew] [Image: It took some…

[For the two nights preceding Valentine’s Day, a café in New York City provided a space for romantic meals not with human dates but AI companions. This story from Newsweek is just one of many stories about the event; more details and insights follow in excerpts from coverage by The Verge and Wired. For more, see Vinyl & Velvet’s story via AOL and Gizmodo’s story “I went on a dinner date with an AI chatbot. Here’s how it went” and video news reports, both approximately four minutes long, from CNN and ABC’s Good Morning America. –Matthew] [Image: Phoebe Callas, 30,…