[Note the many indirect references to different types of presence experiences in this PR Newswire press release for a new virtual reality concert being released this summer. The original version includes a short video trailer (also available on YouTube) and for more videos see the AmazeVR YouTube and Vimeo channels. –Matthew] CHA EUN-WOO’s First-Ever AMAZE VR Concert “MEMORIES” Launches Global Cinema Tour on June 18 Screening in 21 Cities Worldwide — Including Korea, the U.S., Mexico, China, Japan, and Across Southeast Asia News provided by AmazeVRMay 21, 2025 LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The K-pop and K-drama sensation…

[This “Curmudgeon Corner” essay from the journal AI and Society argues that artificial intelligence technologies should be designed to avoid rather than expand the use of social cues that evoke medium-as-social-actor presence. –Matthew] [Image: “Replika AI companions can be customised to suit the relationship needs of users. Credit: Luka/Replika.” Source: ABC News (Australia)] The tyranny of algorithmic personification and why we must resist it By Palanichamy Naveen, Dr.N.G.P. Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, IndiaApril 26, 2025 We live in an age where algorithms no longer merely personalize—they personify. From virtual assistants that feign empathy to recommendation engines that masquerade as confidants,…

[In the latest example of using presence-evoking technology to create the illusion that someone who has died is alive, Variety reports that you can now listen to Orson Welles tell you personalized stories related to your location or other points of interest with the Storyrabbit service. In the audio clip (via Vimeo) included in the original version of the story, Welles says “I now walk beside you.” (Note that using his voice is free until June 1). –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Len Trievnor/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images] Orson Welles Can Now Be Your AI-Generated Tour Guide By Todd SpanglerMay 21, 2025 Nearly 40…

[This Reuters story, and the excerpts of coverage from the BBC and ABC15 Arizona, describe the use of artificial intelligence to simulate a murder victim at the sentencing of his killer. See the original Reuters story for a second image and a 3:46 minute video (also available on YouTube). For an in-depth essay on this topic, see “Should a Killer’s Victim Be Able to ‘Speak’ at a Sentencing Through AI?” in Reason. -Matthew] [Image: Source: BBC] Family creates AI video to depict Arizona man addressing his killer in court By Liliana Salgado and Andrew GoudswardMay 9, 20254 CHANDLER, ARIZONA –…

[Here’s a timely news item related to presence. It’s from the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, where the original includes three more images. Watch a short video of Doug Neilsen using VR on the Institute’s Instagram. Note the link to the new publication, “Patient Perceptions of Virtual Reality in Cancer Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study”; here’s the abstract: “This study investigates the use of virtual reality (VR) for cancer rehabilitation (CR) among patients with metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Interviews with 20 participants revealed that the engaging visuals and gamified exercise routines of the…

[This short story from Glasgow, Scotland radio station Clyde 1 describes a campaign that uses presence-evoking virtual reality to allow train travelers to better understand what it’s like to experience sexual harassment on public transport. See the original version of the story for a 1:54 minute video report via Clyde 1 on X and see RailUK for a closely related story about the campaign at London’s Liverpool Street station. See also a pre-print of the research paper “Walking in Her Shoes: Virtual Reality Increases Male Sensitivity to Catcalling Experiences” by Chiara Lucifora and her colleagues. –Matthew] Step into her shoes:…

[According to this report in Psychology Today, the combination of prolonged lockdown experiences during the Covid pandemic and improvements in presence-evoking virtual reality technologies have increased the popularity of extended, drug-assisted, music-centered, social clubbing sessions and raves. –Matthew] Clubbing in Virtual Reality New trend immerses young people in a virtual world of drugs and music, often alone. By Mark S. Gold M.D., “a pioneering researcher, professor, and chairman of psychiatry at Yale, the University of Florida, and Washington University in St Louis. His theories have changed the field, stimulated additional research, and led to new understanding and treatments for opioid…

[An important project at the University of Waterloo has demonstrated a way to make more presence-evoking virtual reality experiences available to those with mobility limitations. This news release via EurekAlert! provides details; follow the link at the end for more information and a 2:26 video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: A person in a wheelchair wearing VR googles holding a controller leaning to avoid hazards in the VR game, Beat Saber. Credit: University of Waterloo.] Making virtual reality more accessible New tool helps people with limited mobility play VR games like Beat Saber University of WaterlooMay 5, 2025 A…

[Barnard College recently used mixed reality technologies to present a stage play that examines “some of the most pressing questions and issues around our technology-driven society.” See the original story for six different pictures and find more information and images on Artist-in-Residence Hope Hutman’s website. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Barnard College] Class of 1970’s Ntozake Shange’s Novel ‘Liliane’ Meets Mixed Reality Artist-in-Residence Hope Hutman stages humanity in a digital age inside Barnard’s Movement Lab. April 28, 2025 On a Friday in April, inside Barnard’s Movement Lab, several people wearing mixed-reality headsets sat on cushions, taking notes on scripts or laptops as…

[A new presence-evoking virtual art exhibition was unveiled at the recent NEXT IN Summit event in Madrid, to illustrate and generate discussions about how museums and other institutions can better help audiences connect with art and cultural heritage. The story is from designboom, where the original includes six more images. For a related story, see a November 2023 post in ISPR Presence News post featuring an essay by then-Middle East Director of ACCIONA Cultura. –Matthew] ACCIONA’s NEXT IN Summit 2025 brings Prado’s paintings to life with virtual reality tour By Lisa KostyraMay 9, 2025 Shaping the Future of Cultural Spaces…

[Here’s a long but interesting story from TV News Check about how one veteran television meteorologist has “built and deployed avatars of herself that can analyze and present the weather” in local forecasts across the US and even “interact one-on-one with users for more personalized weather queries on her website.” As she notes at the end of the story, the presence-evoking technology is available and affordable, and using it can be empowering: “A meteorologist is not replaced by an avatar, … A meteorologist enhances the avatar.” See the original version of the story for a second image and a 4:00…

[The Dali Museum in Florida has again used presence-evoking technologies to explore the work and life Salvador Dali, this time making it possible (for a short time at least) for anyone to call a telephone number and have a conversation with an AI chatbot trained to replicate the Spanish surrealist who died in 1989. The short story below from DesignTAXI provides details and the original version includes a 32-second video (also on YouTube). For more on the mentioned AI trailer for the never-made film Giraffes on Horseback Salad, see coverage in Artsy and a (negative) review in ArtNet.…