[A widely reported deepfake scam in Hong Kong is a dramatic illustration of the dangers of presence. The basic details are in the report below from CNN. Coverage from Bloomberg via Channel News Asia captures the unsettling new dangers in the opening line: “Is the boss who’s giving you an order real or just realistic? Deepfakes are now taking Zoom calls to another level of awkwardness, by making us question whether our co-workers are genuine.” The author goes on to identify a series of things “we’ll all need to do in the future for sensitive video calls.” According to RTHK, “Police said that to avoid falling victim to fake online meetings, people should confirm the details through regular communication channels, and ask questions during video conferences to check the other participants are real and who they say they are.“… read more. “Real-time multi-person video conference deepfake leads to $25 million theft”

[A Euronews journalist conducted a personal experiment with a Replika chatbot and reports on her experience in this story. She mentions parasocial relationships and Computers Are Social Actors research, as well as the presence-disrupting effects of AI “hallucinations.” The original version of the story includes the 6:28 minute video mentioned at the end (it’s also available on YouTube). –Matthew]

I became friends with an AI avatar on the Replika app. This is what I learned

Do friendships with an artificial intelligence (AI) only exist in science fiction? We tested a virtual companion app to explore human-machine relationships.

By Margaux Racaniere
Published October 31, 2023; updated February 4, 2024

With ChatGPT on every computer, the Snapchat bot, and chatbots on shopping sites, it’s increasingly difficult to avoid artificial intelligence (AI).

We generally have a very practical relationship with them, as we might with an assistant or a host in real life.… read more. “I became friends with an AI avatar on the Replika app. This is what I learned”

[Another application of increasingly sophisticated but easy-to-use technology to create convincing simulations of reality – this time official identification documents – is described in this short story from Design TAXI. Coverage from readwrite concludes this way:

“This appears to be another leg of the cat-and-mouse race between big tech and bad actors caused by the rapid advances in AI, and a very concerning one given the implications for security systems. Microsoft can attest to the vulnerability of technology after its property was used to create explicit deepfake images of Taylor Swift. This race will be an enduring marathon instead of a quick sprint because once one deepfake scam is toppled, another is very likely to emerge.”

For more details and images, see stories from 404 Media, PetaPixel and Cointelegraph. –Matthew]

[Image: Identification documents (social security, driver license and credit cards) in hand of thief, isolated on white.… read more. “‘OnlyFake’ site spits out faux IDs that can pass verification checks”

[The increasingly realistic and impactful nature of experiences in virtual reality, and the increasing popularity of the technology, creates prospects for both positive and negative effects on users. This Washington Post story describes some of the challenges in preventing and prosecuting sexual harassment and assault in virtual worlds. Here’s a key quote: “’This type of immersive and embodied experience [makes] harassing behavior feel as realistic as in the physical world,’ [Clemson University professor Guo] Freeman said. ‘It’s like my offline body is attacked because it feels so real. It’s like someone is touching me.’” –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Illustration by Emily Sabens/The Washington Post; iStock]

Attacks in the metaverse are booming. Police are starting to pay attention.

A growing cohort of activists are urging police forces to grapple with sexual attacks in virtual reality, but prosecuting digital abuse could be tricky

By Naomi Nix
February 4, 2024

Though the attack took place in virtual reality, Nina Jane Patel was surprised to feel her real heart racing in her chest.… read more. “Increasing realism of VR raises concerns about preventing, prosecuting sexual harassment and assault in virtual worlds”

[A Disney invention inspired by Star Trek’s Holodeck simulation room brings new potential for presence experiences in immersive virtual reality, theme parks and beyond. This story from Fast Company provides the available details and the original version contains three animated gifs as well as a 4:49 minute video (also available directly via YouTube). –Matthew]

[Image: Source: TheSocialTalks]

A Disney Imagineer explains how they made the HoloTile floor, a magical walkway that moves in any direction

The sci-fi inspired device could bring us a step closer to truly immersive virtual reality.

By Nate Berg
January 31, 2024

Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot is walking through Disneyland, the theme park where many of his inventions pepper rides and experiences. He’s in a plaza, wandering around like he’s trying to decide which ride to go on next. He heads down one path then turns around and heads in another direction, right towards the castle at the center of the park.… read more. “Disney’s HoloTile: Star Trek-inspired multi-user omnidirectional treadmill brings us closer to Holodeck”

[A new, story in Vanity Fair offers vivid examples of how Apple’s new Vision Pro technology evokes presence, with some powerful, even addictive, consequences. I’ve selected the excerpts below and then highlighted key statements within them (in bold text). See the original story for more details and a second image. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Norman Jean Roy]

Why Tim Cook Is Going All In on the Apple Vision Pro

Inside Apple Park, the tech giant’s CEO talks about the genesis of a “mind-blowing” new device that could change the way we live and work. A-list directors are already on board—“My experience was religious,” says James Cameron—but will your average iPhone user drop $3,500 on a headset?

By Nick Bilton
February 1, 2024

[snip]

Back in 2013, in a conference room in Los Angeles, I strapped an Oculus VR headset to my head for the first time.… read more. “First-person report: A VR skeptic’s presence experiences with the Apple Vision Pro”

[A new documentary explores the evolving uses of technology to create the illusion of a loved one’s presence after death, and the complex positive and negative consequences of the phenomenon. This review from The Utah Review includes material from an interview with the filmmakers; see the original version for two more images and a video clip (also available on YouTube). See also a balanced assessment of the technologies in a review from Slant Magazine and a particularly negative assessment in a review from Rolling Stone. IndieWire has a 12:45 minute video interview with the filmmakers on YouTube. At this writing the film has a 89% score at Rotten Tomatoes. –Matthew]

[Image: A still from Eternal You by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.… read more. “Presence after death: “Eternal You” documentary critiques technology’s quest to ‘keep the dead alive’”

[PetaPixel has a link-filled round-up of reviews of Apple’s new Vision Pro headset (the original story includes a second image and seven videos). In addition to some indirect references to presence experiences, these three quotes from the last section of the round-up capture the technology journalists’ reactions:

• “The Vision Pro is an astounding product… It’s the sort of first-generation device only Apple can really make…”
• “Apple’s headset has all the characteristics of a first-generation product: It’s big and heavy, its battery life sucks, there are few great apps and it can be buggy… Yet so much of what the Vision Pro can do feels sci-fi… It’s the best mixed-reality headset I’ve ever tried.”
• “The Vision Pro comes with its own drawbacks and limits all over the place. But it’s also, at its best, a stunning look at the future.”

–Matthew]

What Reviewers Are Saying About the Apple Vision Pro

By Jeremy Gray
January 30, 2024

Since Apple announced its mixed-reality Vision Pro headset last June, tech enthusiasts have been eagerly waiting to hear how the futuristic-looking headset is during real-world use.… read more. “What reviewers are saying about the Apple Vision Pro”

[Nothing too startling, but this BBC story provides a link-filled update on the post-pandemic status of the use of presence-evoking technologies for remote work. See the original version for two more images.  –Matthew]

[Image: Tech companies across the globe are trying to improve remote collaboration, one VR headset at a time. Credit: Alamy]

Can AR and VR finally disrupt the exhausting culture of video meetings?

Some companies touted virtual and augmented reality as the new frontier of the office. It hasn’t materialised. But XR tech still may have a role to play in the modern hybrid workplace.

By Brennan Doherty, Features correspondent
January 26, 2024

Jussi Havu, CEO of Helsinki-based Glue Collaborations, starts every Monday morning mingling with 30 of his colleagues in a virtual-reality meeting room. Glue’s mission is to bring VR to the typical knowledge-work office. Havu is unsurprisingly optimistic about the business case for it.… read more. “Can AR and VR finally disrupt the exhausting culture of video meetings?”

[On Zoom, users can replace their camera’s image with a customizable cartoon avatar that blinks and moves subtly even when the user steps away, but Lenovo has announced an AI-generated photorealistic video avatar that can actually convince other people they’re seeing you in front of your turned-on camera during a video conference, even when you’ve left the room. And a newly announced Lenovo AI-based assistant sounds like it’ll be capable of evoking compelling medium-as-social-actor presence as users communicate with their computer. Some of the details about both developments are in the Forbes story below. The new tools are part of a larger effort to develop “AI for All”; see Lenovo’s press release, “AI-Powered Avatar Creates New Communication Possibilities for People with Severe Disabilities” for a meaningful example.  –Matthew]

Lenovo’s AI Pretends To Be You In Video Meetings

By Barry Collins, Senior Contributor
January 8, 2024

Need to duck out of a video meeting to answer the door or a call of nature?… read more. “Lenovo’s AI pretends to be you in video meetings”