[This CNN story about a more physically and psychologically realistic virtual influencer named Angie raises interesting questions about the appeals of and reactions to the interactive artificial humans increasingly being used to market products. For example, it says that “[d]espite knowing she’s not real, many of Angie’s followers eagerly tell her about their day in two group chats on Douyin” and a millennial follower is quoted saying “The reason why I like her is that Angie is more realistic than many people who are actually real.” In a new story in RADII that includes more details about Angie and her…

[A press release from Verizon reports some interesting findings related to medium-as-social-actor (and actor within medium) presence in the context of customer service. For much more information follow one of the links to the whitepaper below. –Matthew] What makes a digital connection human is changing, global study finds November 9, 2021 Media contact(s): Erin Cheever erin.dowling@verizon.com What you need to know: New Longitude survey of over 5,600 people across 16 countries highlights acceptance of automated machines is growing among consumers, but transparency is key As Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots and other intelligent tools take on more human-like attributes, human involvement…

[The opinions in the Big Think story below by an augmented reality pioneer highlight the promise and especially the peril of the presence-evoking technology. See also “Hey, Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago. It was terrible then, and it’s terrible now.” by Ethan Zuckerman in The Atlantic; here are the last three paragraphs: “Facebook can claim originality in at least one thing. Its combination of scale and irresponsibility has unleashed a set of diverse and fascinating sociopolitical challenges that it will take lawmakers, scholars, and activists at least a generation to fix. If Facebook has learned anything from…

[This story from IBC describes the process a group of technology experts and musicians used to create a series of live, high definition audio and video performances in the challenging genre of jazz across three cities; it seems likely that such distributed live music performance experiences that allow artists and audience members to overlook the role of technology will become common in the future. See the original story for more pictures. –Matthew] How Blue Note Used Networked AV for Distanced Jazz Concerts Thanks to the efforts of a close-knit technology partnership, jazz musicians in three US locations were able to…

[If you’ll be in Adelaide, Australia this month you might want to experience presence in a new attraction described in this story from InReview; see the original story for more pictures and a 55 second trailer (also available via YouTube). Coverage in CityMag adds these details: “Immersion is presented within the Ellipse, a purpose-built room at Light which has been created with a 360-degree LED display stretching 13m by 8m in an oval shape and reaching 4m in height. [Event director Nathan] Bazley describes the audience experience as being like virtual reality ‘but shared with 39 other people and not…

[This story from 5280, “Denver’s Mile High Magazine,” reports on one person’s quest to create valuable long-form presence experiences for trail explorers and racers; see the original story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Run Infinite] Run Infinite’s Virtual Reality Library Helps Viewers Hit the Trails A local coaching company is creating the world’s first 360-degree VR trail library one trail run at a time. By Sarah Banks November 4, 2021 Brandon Yonke wants you to experience the iconic Leadville 100 trail race, and he’s doing the hard part for you. This past August, using his own macgyvered GoPro…

[Note the references to various forms of presence in this short press release from the Church of England (including the Church’s tagline “A Christian Presence in Every Community”). You can watch the 7:17 minute 4K 360-degree video on YouTube. –Matthew] Ancient Blessing of the Light service in Virtual Reality first October 31, 2021 People from around the world will be able to ‘join’ in traditional worship at a church in London through Virtual Reality for the first time. The Blessing of the Light, which draws on one of the ancient evening rituals of early Christianity, has been filmed in 3D…

[Microsoft has announced new features that move us closer to its vision for the much-discussed concept of a metaverse; the story below from The Verge offers some of the details and is followed by excerpts of other coverage that highlight presence-related aspects of the news. –Matthew] Microsoft Teams enters the metaverse race with 3D avatars and immersive meetings Microsoft and Meta are on a collision course for metaverse competition By Tom Warren November 2, 2021 Microsoft is entering the race to build a metaverse inside Teams, just days after Facebook rebranded to Meta in a push to build virtual spaces…

[Our colleague Skip Rizzo, his mother, and his latest valuable work that involves multiple forms of presence are the topics in this story from USC News; see the original for a 54 second video (also available via YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: Skip Rizzo’s mother takes a virtual tour of Rome. Credit: Skip Rizzo. Source: YouTube (screenshot)] USC researcher envisions Siri-like assistants and VR travel for older people and their caregivers Professor Skip Rizzo’s 89-year-old mother test-drives his innovations. By Leigh Hopper November 1, 2021 USC Research Professor Skip Rizzo thought his mother might like a trip to Rome. She put on…

[An interesting new study of the potential of virtual reality and presence to create a sense of awe and connection is described in this researcher-authored, link-filled story in The Conversation; see the original version for two more images and a 4:48 minute video. –Matthew] Virtual reality can combat isolation with awe and empathy — on Earth and in space By Katerina Stepanova, PhD Candidate and Lecturer in Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University October 31, 2021 It takes seven months to get to Mars in an efficiently engineered spaceship, covering the distance of 480 million kilometres. On this journey,…

[Frontiers reports on a new effort to expand opportunities for the public to use presence-evoking technologies to learn about and enable them to contribute to scientific discoveries. The free, open-access virtual reality visualization tool for single cell data requires only very inexpensive equipment and no advanced training. In addition to the Frontiers in Genetics article cited, see a story in Medium for more details and a video trailer (also available on YouTube along with a video tutorial). –Matthew] For less than $10, anyone can now get up close and explore single cells in VR A team of scientists has developed…

[KARE11 TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul reports on a documentary series that uses 360-degree footage of the protests following the death of George Floyd to create a unique experience of the events. See the original story for a 1:55 minute video and follow links in the story to related resources including videos about the In Protest series and a variety of other virtual reality experiences. Here’s an excerpt from the Oculus blog description (the first link below): “IN PROTEST examines the current state of social activism and reform through 360° interviews, spatial audio, and other immersive technologies. Volume 1 in the…