Category: Presence in the News
News stories explicitly or implicitly related to presence from a wide variety of sources
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US Federal Election Commission moves toward potentially regulating AI deepfakes in campaign ads
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Read more: US Federal Election Commission moves toward potentially regulating AI deepfakes in campaign ads[This AP story reports on some of the growing concerns about the impacts of deepfake technologies in the realm of politics in the US, and tentative steps to address the dangers with regulation. See the original version of the story for seven images from the August 10, 2023 FEC meeting. For recent related stories see “We’re not ready for the impact of generative AI on elections” (ZDNet) “This AI company releases deepfakes into the wild. Can it control them?” (Wired) “Hundreds of sexual deepfake ads using Emma Watson’s face ran on Facebook and Instagram in the last two days” (NBC…
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UK startup Scentient will help you smell your way out of the uncanny valley
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Read more: UK startup Scentient will help you smell your way out of the uncanny valley[This Wired story reports on a new attempt to add the powerful cues of odors to presence experiences in virtual reality. Learn more at the Scentient website. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Robert Daly/Getty Images] Smell Your Way Out of the Uncanny Valley In simulated environments, smell is often the neglected sense. Scentient’s wearable device aims to bring a whiff of authenticity to virtual reality. By Andrew Kersley August 11, 2023 In the summer of 2016, teenagers Anastasia Georgievskaya and Ivan Novikov were walking along London’s South Bank, picking their way past the food stalls lining the Thames, when they caught an…
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How ABBA Voyage and other avatar or ‘hologram’ concert performances evoke fans’ real responses
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Read more: How ABBA Voyage and other avatar or ‘hologram’ concert performances evoke fans’ real responses[In this essay from The Conversation, Ambrose University musicologist Alyssa Michaud describes her research about how audience members respond to holographic concerts like the successful ABBA Voyage. The original essay includes three more images and a video trailer. You can read her article “Locating liveness in holographic performances: Technological anxiety and participatory fandom at Vocaloid concerts,” in the journal Popular Music. For more about Professor Michaud see her Ambrose University and LinkedIn web pages. –Matthew] How ABBA Voyage and other avatar or ‘hologram’ concert performances evoke fans’ real responses By Alyssa Michaud, Assistant Professor of Music, Ambrose University July 13,…
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From windows to wall art, hospitals use virtual reality to design more inclusive rooms for kids
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Read more: From windows to wall art, hospitals use virtual reality to design more inclusive rooms for kids[Researchers at the XR Lab at the University of California, Berkeley are using virtual reality and presence to better understand what design features of hospital facilities make children’s difficult patient experiences less stressful and unpleasant. This story from STAT News provides details; the Lab’s website has more information about this and other projects. The story doesn’t mention them, but a related design feature that takes advantage of presence and is used for some of the same benefits is virtual skylights and windows – see Healthcare Snapshots for some examples. –Matthew] [Image: Researcher Haripriya Sathyanarayanan observing as a pediatric participant explores…
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How spatial computing ends the concept of remote work
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Read more: How spatial computing ends the concept of remote work[Descriptive scenarios set in different time periods are an engaging way to illustrate how and how quickly our use of technology – in this case presence-evoking technology – is advancing. This column by Mike Elgan in Computerworld is a good example. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot from Apple Developer video “Platforms State of the Union” with a woman’s avatar presenting a whiteboard graphic of a Living Office Case Study; a caption of the narrator’s audio from the video is at the bottom of the screen and says, “and feel more present like they are gathered in the same physical space.”] How spatial…
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Can AI replace actors? Here’s how digital double tech works
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Read more: Can AI replace actors? Here’s how digital double tech works[Scientific American provides a cogent primer on the past, present and possible future of using technology to alter or replace human actors in film, television and video games. Among other insights, the story makes clear that digital alteration of people’s appearance and even the use of “digital doubles,” is and has long been very common. –Matthew] [Image: An employee stands in a cage in which dozens of cameras simultaneously capture his image during a presentation of a photogrammetry process at the headquarters of French video games developer and publisher Quantic Dream in Paris. The photogrammetry process is used to develop…
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Loftie alarm clock reads you a personalized AI bedtime story to lull you to sleep
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Read more: Loftie alarm clock reads you a personalized AI bedtime story to lull you to sleep[As some readers will know, I’m interested in and collect clocks, and have pointed out that they often provide social cues that can evoke medium-as-social-actor presence (this is especially true of spring- and weight-driven antique mechanical clocks that have pendulums and tick and chime). The story below from DesignTAXI describes an unusual new feature in the Loftie digital alarm clock that produces an AI-generated human voice reading a personalized bedtime story. Lifewire’s coverage adds this: “This is being advertised for bedtime stories but could be used at any time by anyone, young or old. … [The voices] actually sound real…
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Virtual Reality in the larger context
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Read more: Virtual Reality in the larger context[I’m guessing many of us can relate to this short first-person essay from Medium in which technology and business expert Atul Salgaonkar describes the challenges and satisfaction of introducing others to the “bigger picture” of virtual reality. He also describes an interesting presence project from his past. Follow the link for his name to read other, related essays in Medium. –Matthew] [Image: A chart by the author displaying user engagement with VR during three eras: VR 1.0 (Hobby, VR 2.0 (Games) and the era we’re entering now, VR 3.0 (Experiences)] Virtual Reality in the larger context By Atul Salgaonkar, Founder…
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“AI: Who’s Looking After Me?” at Science Gallery London explores how AI can be deployed to care for humans
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Read more: “AI: Who’s Looking After Me?” at Science Gallery London explores how AI can be deployed to care for humans[A new exhibition at a London gallery explores medium-as-social-actor presence phenomena and implications in what sounds like interesting ways. This story from Artnet News provides details; see the original version for pictures from three more of the installations, and follow the link at the bottom for more information. –Matthew] [Image: Blast Theory, Cat Royale (2023). Credit: Courtesy of RULER. Photo by Stephen Daly.] Moving Beyond Killer Robots, a New Show Explores How Artificial Intelligence Can Be Deployed to Care for Humans “AI: Who’s Looking After Me?” is on view at Science Gallery London. By Emily Steer July 4, 2023 Would…
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Prisms VR platform uses real-world simulations (and presence) to help students improve their math literacy
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Read more: Prisms VR platform uses real-world simulations (and presence) to help students improve their math literacy[A startup company called Prisms VR is using virtual reality (and presence) to immerse students in realistic simulations of real-world environments to help them improve their skills in math and other STEM areas; as the founder of the company says, they’re “taking problems from textbooks and bringing them to life.” Details are in the story below from IEEE Spectrum (where the original version includes a second image), and much more information is available on the Prisms VR website. –Matthew] [Image: Each of Prisms VR’s modules covers one topic within the relevant STEM subject. Based on what module is chosen, the…
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Shape-shifting 3D display could soon bring touch to the digital world
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Read more: Shape-shifting 3D display could soon bring touch to the digital world[It’s early days, but the presence-related and other possible applications of the new shape-shifting display technology described in the CU Boulder Today story below sound impressive. See the original story for a 2:12 minute video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: A new, shape-shifting display can sense and respond to human touch. Credit: Brian Johnson] 3D display could soon bring touch to the digital world By Daniel Strain July 31, 2023 Imagine an iPad that’s more than just an iPad—with a surface that can morph and deform, allowing you to draw 3D designs, create haiku that jump out from the…
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Photoshop’s “Generative Expand” feature uses AI to easily and convincingly expand images, combining real and imagined elements
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Read more: Photoshop’s “Generative Expand” feature uses AI to easily and convincingly expand images, combining real and imagined elements[One of the new features in Adobe’s Photoshop image editing software lets users easily expand the contents of an image beyond the original size and shape, making it that much easier to combine actual and artificial elements in a photo and that much harder for viewers to distinguish between them. The short story below from XDA provides the basic information about “Generative Expand” and Adobe provides details in its blog post and a 3:38 minute video available on YouTube. ZDNet has a detailed, example-filled description of the feature along with Content Aware Fill and Generative Fill; the story also notes…
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