[It’s hard to imagine the immediate and long-term physical and psychological effects of war on the children in Gaza, but one therapy program there is using presence-evoking virtual reality to “transport the youngsters to a world far away from the destruction around them” and “help them rebuild positive perceptions of the world.” Some of the details are in this story from AFP via Barrons; see the original version for four more pictures. A 3:20 minute video report is available from ETV Bharat. –Matthew] [Image: Palestinian children using goggles and a joystick experience virtual reality as part of a therapy programme.…

[Although there isn’t much other information about it online, the “showroom” for presence technologies described in this story from Essential Install sounds like a rewarding destination for a presence field trip. See the original story for a large photo gallery, and the Musion 3D website for contact information. –Matthew] Musion 3D opens world’s largest AI hologram showroom By Daniel J SaitDecember 2, 2025 Musion 3D opens what it describes as the world’s largest hologram showroom in London, unveiling an 11,000 sq ft interactive space designed to demonstrate the latest advances in holographic communication, AI-driven avatars and immersive display systems. The…

[Note the many indirect references to presence in this story from Art Basel about a new museum of “automotive culture” that exists only in virtual form. See the original version of the story for eight more images. For a related story, see the other ISPR Presence News post today, “Metropolitan Museum of Art launches new immersive VR and online feature with iconic works from its collection.” –Matthew] Inside the museum that doesn’t exist A pioneering museum without physical walls, Roarington Art Center reimagines how art can exist, be experienced, and endure in the digital age By Payal UttamNovember 24, 2025…

[The new virtual and online versions of works from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York described in the Met’s press release below is important news on its own, but the potential of the Atopia no-code platform for cultural institutions may be even more significant. See the original version of the press release for a second image. For a related story, see the other ISPR Presence News post today, “Virtual Roarington Art Center reimagines how art can exist, be experienced, and endure in the digital age.” –Matthew] [Image: Still from Dendur Decoded. Credit: Courtesy of The…

[A U.S. professor of game development at Kennesaw State University (in Georgia) is drawing on his own experiences navigating grief after the loss of his young daughter to apply presence-evoking technology to help others in similar situations. This story is from KSU; though it’s behind a paywall, more coverage is available from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Matt Yung] KSU researcher draws on personal experience in creation of VR system designed to address grief By Alyssa OzmentSeptember 24, 2025 Six years ago, Assistant Professor of Game Development Lei Zhang and his wife welcomed their first child into the world.…

[Ubisoft is developing gaming software that incorporates AI to enhance presence in some innovative ways, as described in this abridged version of a first-person report from Video Games Chronicle; see the complete original version of the story for more details and seven more pictures. –Matthew] The future of gaming, or ‘just a tool’? Hands-on with Teammates, Ubisoft’s ambitious voice AI tech demo We tried Ubisoft’s in-game cloud AI project By Chris ScullionNovember 21, 2025 The debate about the use of AI in video games is one that seems certain to only increase in both intensity and range over time.…

[This story from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany provides some of the details of an ambitious multi-method study of the experiences of people with visible and invisible disabilities (PWD) when they have the opportunity to have those disabilities reflected in their avatar in virtual spaces. Although the term self presence isn’t used specifically, in their published article (see the link in the story) the authors conclude that “positive experiences are not only more frequent but also potentially more influential in predicting PWDs’ engagement in the Metaverse, their connection to and satisfaction with their avatars, and their…

[An economics professor at Syracuse University is using presence-evoking virtual reality to help students better understand the impacts of living in societies at different levels of economic development. See the original version of this story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: Junior economics major Bram Feenstra during a virtual trip to the subject of his studies: Dushanbe, Tajikistan] Virtual Reality Shows Students the Realities of Developing Economies Students in Andrew Jonelis’ Economics of Emerging Markets course have received an up-close view of markets thousands of miles away thanks to the Digital Scholarship Space. By Renée Gearhart LevyNovember 21, 2025 Senior…

[Following many examples of robots in science fiction that evoke medium-as-social-actor presence, the Chinese company XPENG recently presented its robot IRON at a public event. The demonstration was so successful the company representative had to reveal the technology inside to convince the audience it wasn’t actually a human. Coverage from Live Science below provides many details, and an excerpt from Mashable that follows below provides more context. See also “Robotics Company Builds Straight-Up Terminator” from Futurism. –Matthew] Watch: Chinese company’s new humanoid robot moves so smoothly, they had to cut it open to prove a person wasn’t hiding inside Xpeng’s…

[IMAX cameras have always been too noisy to film intimate scenes with real-time dialogue, but new technical innovations allowed director Christopher Nolan and his cinematographer to create the first film entirely shot in the presence-evoking large-screen format. Details are in this story from Variety, followed below by excerpts from coverage in World of Reel and Screen Rant. For more about the new camera, see coverage in Y.M.Cinema Magazine. –Matthew] [Image: “The new IMAX’s Next-Gen 65mm Cameras on the Set of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey” Source: Y.M.Cinema Magazine] Christopher Nolan Shot ‘The Odyssey’ Entirely With Imax Cameras by Creating New Equipment…

[Journalism is just one of the many professions for which artificial intelligence creates presence-related and other ethical challenges and the need for an updated code of ethics. This commentary from the Media 3.0 blog by the MediaPost Editor-in-Chief demonstrates that AI itself can help with the updating process (but thereby argues that humans have to be transparent about AI’s role and take ultimate responsibility for the revised code). –Matthew] Commentary An AI Journalistic Code Of Ethics (Proposed By An AI) By Joe MandeseNovember 17, 2025 Citing a variety of factors related to artificial intelligence — misinformation, disinformation, media literacy, media…

[A key concept in presence scholarship has been named Word of the Year for 2025 by Cambridge Dictionary, and is the topic of widespread press coverage including by CNN, USA Today, the CBC and BBC, and Rolling Stone. ABC News has a 2:17 minute video report. The press release by Cambridge Dictionary from Business Wire is below; see also a new graphic-heavy Cambridge website about the word and a 2:55 minute Cambridge video about it featuring psychologist Simone Schnall. –Matthew] ‘Parasocial’ is Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2025 November 17, 2025 2025 saw huge interest in ‘parasocial’ relationships with…