[Google has released a new, free, more powerful AI-based generator of presence-evoking images, as reported in this story from DesignTAXI and the excerpts from other coverage that follow below. As the Venture Beat excerpt notes, the rapid evolution of the technology and the contrasting approaches of Google and Elon Musk’s xAI raise questions about “the potential impact of these tools on public discourse and information integrity.” The original versions of all of the stories include more pictures. –Matthew] Google Releases Free AI Art Generator That ‘Outperforms’ Popular Paid Rivals By Mikelle LeowAugust 20, 2024 Google is brushing up against the…

[A new “Made for Meta” rotating chair for virtual reality is designed to reduce motion sickness and increase immersiveness (presence), as reported in short story from The Verge and excerpts from coverage in several other publications that follow. Most of the original stories include more pictures and the Roto VR Explorer chair trailer (also available on YouTube). See an April 2015 ISPR Presence News post for details about an early version of the new product. –Matthew] This head-tracking spinning chair could make VR less nauseating The Roto VR Explorer chair matches the rotational movements of a VR user’s head, helping…

[Guy Bate and his colleagues at the University of Auckland are exploring the use of presence-evoking AI-based assistants to serve as supplementary teachers in the Graduate School of Management, as reported in this story from New Zealand’s The Post. See the original version of the story for five more pictures and a 1:24 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: A University of Auckland teaching avatar. Credit: Simon Morrow / Stuff] Forget imaginary friends, how about an imaginary teacher? By Kevin NorquayAugust 17, 2024 Wish you always had a friendly face close at hand, to help with tricky problems? Well, the University of…

[Regardless of its validity, the popular culture treatments and scientific and philosophical considerations of the idea that we all live in a sophisticated technology-based simulation, which would be the ultimate example of presence, demonstrate that simulation and illusion are important concepts and phenomena in our age (as clocks and steam engines were in earlier ones). This story from Futurism provides an overview of the latest efforts to find evidence that supports one version of the simulation argument. For more information, see the press release the author mentions, which is available at PRLog, and the experimenters’ testingthehhypothesis website. The Cosmos News…

[The US National Hockey League isn’t an objective source, but this story from NHL.com provides some interesting information about the League’s presence-evoking virtual reality gameplay simulator and how and why people use it. See the original story for a second image and for more information see the NHL Sense Arena and Fanatics Fest NYC websites. –Matthew] Goalie virtual reality tool highlights Fanatics Fest NYC Sense Arena program gives fans taste of real NHL action By David Satriano, NHL.com Staff WriterAugust 15, 2024 Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stare down a slap shot from Alex Ovechkin? Well, thanks…

[Twenty-one-year-old Avi Schiffmann, already known for a series of technology inventions, is launching a new AI companion called ‘Friend’ that, as the name suggests, is designed to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence. The story from The Verge below provides details, and the excerpts from coverage by Wired adds more; the original versions of both stories include the 1:44 minute product trailer video (also available on YouTube). For a negative take on Friend, see a story in TechRadar, and for related news about Heeyo’s “AI chatbot [created] to be a billion kids’ interactive tutor and friend,” see a recent story in TechCrunch.…

[Here’s an extremely thoughtful link-filled essay from MIT Technology Review about some of the perils of medium-as-social-actor presence and what researchers, designers and regulators can do to mitigate them in an ethical manner. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Pat Pataranutaporn | Robert Mahari] We need to prepare for ‘addictive intelligence’ The allure of AI companions is hard to resist. Here’s how innovation in regulation can help protect people. By Robert Mahari a joint JD-PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab and Harvard Law School. His work focuses on computational law—using advanced computational techniques to analyze, improve, and extend the study and practice…

[Although it’s not mentioned in this story from Futurism or in the company’s press release, my first reaction to the news that a robot controlled not by a human but by artificial intelligence has performed successful dental surgery on a human patient was to wonder what the patient thought of the idea and experience. How much did they trust the robot? Did they anthropomorphize it and experience medium-as-social-actor presence? How nervous were they before and during the surgery? Would they do it again? More generally, what would or will be the psychological barriers to widespread adoption of other replacements of…

[Here’s a succinct explanation and review of current research about the potential benefits and dangers of using presence-evoking technologies to treat body image disturbances. The original essay in The Conversation includes a 3:13 minute video (also on YouTube) about the rubber hand illusion. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Franz12 / Shutterstock] Virtual reality ‘embodiment illusions’ may help the skewed perceptions behind body image disturbances By Jade Portingale, PhD Candidate, School of Psychological Sciences, The University of MelbourneJuly 16, 2024 Most of the time, our brains are very good at blending together input from all our senses into a seamless, unified conscious experience…

[There aren’t many details in this press release from New Jersey’s Montclair State University, but especially given recent news about the behavior of politicians and others in civic life, it seems important to note that Montclair is devoting nearly $2 million to a new program that will use virtual reality and presence to help undergraduate students become more ethical, engaged citizens. –Matthew] Montclair Awarded $1 Million to Develop Unique Character Education Course Using Virtual Reality With grant support from the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, Montclair is positioned to be a leader in offering innovative, character-focused…

[A new presence-evoking virtual reality experience is being used in Hiroshima, Japan to help pass on the memories of survivors of the atomic bomb that devastated the city in 1945, while promoting deep reflection about peace. See the original version of this story from the South China Morning News for three more images. More information and a 5:27 minute video (also on YouTube) are available on the Tabimachi-Gate Hiroshima website. –Matthew] [Image: Hiroshi Yamaguchi, head of travel company Tabimachi-Gate Hiroshima, uses a VR headset on a tour that allows people to experience Hiroshima as it was before, during and after…

[Researchers figured out a way to compress a full 360-degree horizontal view in a virtual reality headset into normal 90-degree neck movement, and apparently it quickly becomes natural and intuitive for the user. Some of the details are reported in the short stories from Hackaday and Shining Science below. –Matthew] Giving People An Owl-like Visual Field Via VR Feels Surprisingly Natural By Donald PappJuly 16, 2024 We love hearing about a good experiment, and here’s a pretty neat one: researchers used a VR headset, an off-the-shelf VR360 camera, and some custom software to glue them together. The result? Owl-Vision squashes…