[Although they don’t address the important questions about how humanoid robots will evoke medium-as-social-actor presence perceptions and social responses on their way to being integrated into human society, experts are predicting a huge market for the robots in both industrial and consumer sectors, as reported in this story from Inc. See also “The Rise of Humanoids, Explained” from Fund management company Global X ETFs (where the report includes some intriguing charts and other graphics). –Matthew] [Image: Source: Peter Diamandis blog] Peter Diamandis Predicts ‘Millions, Then Billions’ of Humanoid Robots Are Coming The entrepreneur and futurist expects advancements in AI and…

[Despite remaining challenges, this IEEE Spectrum update about the quest for improved visual resolution, and thus perceived realism and compelling presence experiences, includes this key quote: “[T]he latest headsets with the best display technology are close to achieving what [Varjo Chief Product Officer Patrick] Wyatt calls the ‘human resolution bar’—the limit past which a person with 20/20 vision will no longer see an improvement. Future displays will eventually exceed it.” –Matthew] [Image: Varjo’s XR-4 headset features a resolution nearing 4K per eye—which approaches the equivalent of 20/20 vision. Credit: Varjo] VR Headsets Are Approaching the Eye’s Resolution Limits Some manufacturers…

[Not all presence experiences are created in digital environments. As this CNN story notes, immersive fantasy experiences in theme parks, at Renaissance fairs, and at science fiction and fantasy conventions have been around for decades. But the pandemic and political polarization have contributed to the growing popularity of “fantasy-themed balls, masquerades and similar immersive events for adults.” See the original version of the story for four more images. –Matthew] [Image: Guests at a fantasy ball participate in a choreographed dance on Aug. 20, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. Credit: Thistle + Lace Photography] Belle of the book ball: Book Tok…

[Although we recognize the use of digital effects in some (e.g., science fiction and fantasy) films and television programs, in a common and extremely effective form of presence we completely overlook the role of many sophisticated digital manipulations used by visual effects artists to make the people and settings in films and programs appear realistic and natural. Some of these manipulations are described in this New York Times story (see the original version for two more images). –Matthew] [Image: Digital effects were used to create the background of this scene from “Roma.” Credit: Netflix] It’s a Visual Effects Extravaganza, but…

[This essay from TheGamer argues that the entertaining presence experiences provided by virtual reality will be most popular and practical in an updated version of gaming arcades (sadly, a particularly compelling and fun multi-player VR attraction, Dreamscape, just closed its flagship location in Los Angeles after six years). See the original TheGamer story for three more images, and visit the website of the mentioned Two Bit Circus arcade for more information about that venue. –Matthew] The Future Of Virtual Reality Is Co-operative Experiences Virtual reality shouldn’t be targeting regular consumers, it should look to revive arcade gaming By Ben Sledge…

[A new video featuring interactions with the AI-powered robot Figure 01 demonstrates technical advancements likely to new levels of medium-as-social-actor presence. It’s getting lots of attention from the public, press and experts in AI and robotics. Details are in stories below from Mashable and Decrypt; the 2:34 minute video is featured in the original versions of both stories and is available on YouTube. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Decrypt] It’s like ChatGPT with a body: Watch creepy demo of OpenAI-powered robot ‘Figure 01’ I prefer my ChatGPT disembodied, thank you very much. By Kimberly Gedeon March 14, 2024 A creepy demo of…

[The frightening prospect of hackers stealing information and manipulating the presence experiences of virtual reality users without their awareness is described in this story from MIT Technology Review. In the “Twisting Reality” section of the story an expert notes that “There is no way to authenticate what you are seeing once you go into virtual reality, and the immersiveness of the technology makes people trust it more.” –Matthew] [Image: Art by Dogboy] VR headsets can be hacked with an Inception-style attack Researchers managed to crack Meta’s Quest VR system, allowing them to steal sensitive information, and manipulate social interactions.…

[As reported by Variety, Marilyn Monroe is the latest celebrity to be replicated via technology, this time as an interacting, AI-based chatbot said to mimic and engage with users more effectively than previous efforts. Coverage from Decrypt adds these details: “The idea, Soul Machine explained in a blog post, was fueled by more than nostalgia. Advances in AI tech, the company said, can help honor and reimagine iconic figures in an interactive and engaging way.’From static search to text-based chat to conversational AI, we are witnessing a rapid paradigm shift as we begin to head into conversational chat with multimodal…

[The latest use of generative artificial intelligence to evoke mistaken perceptions about the role of technology in media experiences involves fabricated images of Donald Trump with Black people, as reported in this story from Futurism. For more images and information, see the original version of the story, as well as the mentioned BBC report and broader coverage from AP. –Matthew] [Image: Source: BBC] MAGA Uses AI to Invent Pictures of Trump With Black People “I’m not claiming it’s accurate.” By Maggie Harrison Dupré March 4, 2024 MAGA influencers are turning to generative AI to fabricate photos of presidential candidate Donald…

[An artificially intelligent chatbot called Pi (Personal intelligence) is designed to combine “factual and emotional support,” which seems particularly likely to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence. Some of the details are reported in this story from ZDNet (where the original includes a second image). For more information, see the mentioned May 2023 Inflection blog post; see the links at the end of the story to interact with Pi yourself. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Carol Yepes/Getty Images] Inflection’s Pi AI aims to provide information and a shoulder to cry on Designed to be empathetic, helpful, and safe, Pi also boasts improved skills in such…

[This short story from Police1 reports that Los Angeles Police Department cadets offer overwhelmingly positive assessments of the use of presence-evoking virtual reality in their training. See the V-Armed website for more information about the form and content of the training; the website’s Press page features links to many print and video news reports. –Matthew] LAPD survey finds cadets rated VR training ‘excellent,’ want more The V-Armed training has been in use at the department since 2022, and trains cadets in situations surrounding de-escalation, mental health and use of force By Joanna Putman, Police1 March 7, 2024 LOS ANGELES —…

[The short Gamespot story below describes the latest version of a presence-evoking product that extends the lighting on a television (or other) screen to the viewing environment. A press release from the manufacturer via PR Newswire provides more details, and Yanko Design has a detailed review that features many images and a 30 second video (also on YouTube). Here are a couple key quotes from the review: “TV backlights were made to help better immerse you in the show or movie you’re watching by making sure that the light behind and around your TV reflects the content that’s on screen.”…