In recent years, two separate trends — improvements in headset technology and the growing use of psychedelic drugs in therapy — have intertwined.
From July, approved psychiatrists in Australia will be able to prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.
With MDMA (ecstasy) and ketamine also increasingly being trialled as mental health treatments, researchers are experimenting with the use of VR as a tool for psychedelic therapy.
Much of the work in this field is being done in Australia, where a small number of researchers are developing the world's first VR-assisted treatment protocols.
Can a headset help capture the fleeting insights generated while being high?
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About four years ago, Ms Sekula wondered if VR might be the solution.
Could it bridge the gap between dosing and integration phases by helping the patient recall what they had experienced?
"Integration initially is based on trying to remember, trying to reconnect to that experience and then process it," Ms Sekula said.
"We try to make that first component of it as easy and as rich as possible so that as much of this material is recorded as possible. ...
Under the VR-assisted treatment protocols, the world was designed to be an environment that patients shaped for themselves, a "mind map" of their psychedelic experience.
A therapist could "see" into this world, but they could not enter it. On a computer screen, they could watch the patient and listen to their recordings, but they had no avatar. ...
Vuzix may be best known for smart glasses or other AR equipment one might use at work; however, it pitches its latest product as one for more consumer-oriented OEMs to all but slap their branding on as a new pair of lightweight, sophisticated spectacles.
The head-worn device manufacturer has even developed a "fashion-forward" frame for the Ultralite OEM, which brings the reference glasses' total mass down to 38 grams (g) despite its estimated 2 days of battery life.
Then again, the Platform also allows for the addition of extra sensors or mics. It is rated to pack Vuzix' custom micro-display engine and "advanced" monocular wave-guide optics as standard, rated to drive heads-up-like content to the glasses' lenses. ...
... Unlike humans, AIs can’t merge information from multiple senses. So while it might be possible to stitch together language and image processing applications, researchers have not found a way to integrate them in the same seamless, effortless way that a child integrates vision, language and hearing. ...
To attain AGI, researchers must shift their focus from ever-expanding datasets to a more biologically plausible structure that enables AI to begin exhibiting the same kind of contextual, common-sense understanding as humans. ...
Marketability is perhaps the secret sauce in AGI’s emergence. We can expect that AGI development will create capabilities that are individually marketable. ...
Finally, as we approach human-level intelligence, nobody’s going to notice. At some point we’re going to get close to the human-level threshold, then equal that threshold, then exceed that threshold. At some point thereafter, we’re going to have machines that are obviously superior to human intelligence and people will begin to agree that yes, maybe AGI does exist. But it’s going to be gradual as opposed to a specific “singularity.” ...
Behind Dayzee and her friends is Superplastic, a hype machine of a company that manufactures these synthetic celebrities, along with their elaborate backstories (Janky and Guggimon are charming anarchists who might burn the world to the ground, if not for their love of streetwear and haute couture). “We’re an experimental character design studio, and we’re also a character universe,” says founder Paul Budnitz.
The Burlington, Vermont-based company’s origin story, much like its graffiti-inspired, punk-rock edgy aesthetic, is rooted in subverting expectations. And in some ways, it’s hard to nail down exactly what Superplastic is—but the best explanation might be a Disney- or Marvel-like empire of intellectual property. At its heart, it was born from Budnitz’s love of art and desire to build a character universe that he could keep expanding over time. ...
PhilNote: this article lists 14 funded start-ups working to address various aspects of the problem.
... “Ferreting out misinformation through tech is a really hard problem, on multiple levels,” said Ethan Zuckerman, a University of Massachusetts professor of public policy, communication and information. “First, you have to agree on what is misinformation. Sometimes that’s easy. Often it’s complex and subjective. And even if you can do it for big conspiracy theories, it’s hard to do misinfo debunking for local stories all over the world.”
Another problem Zuckerman points out is much of what we might consider misinformation is more propagandistic than explicitly false. One can, for instance, weave a narrative that isn’t exactly a lie but does leave out key facts or dissenting viewpoints.
For Blocq and VineSight, the solution lies in focusing on the source of information, rather than fact-checking the content itself. ...
In general, there are two types of virtual human beings in China: IP (Intellectual Property) oriented, like AYAYI, and function-oriented, such as digital banking customer service staff members or virtual beings who can perform other tasks on a human’s behalf.
While under the IP-oriented umbrella, there are anime-based characters like Luo Tianyi and hyper-realistic Meta humans, like AYAYI. Both rely on regular content production and continuous interaction with users to enhance the value of the IPs they represent and further achieves monetisation through “2B” or “2C” (or brand/consumer-facing business collaborations). But the commercial model of IP-oriented virtual beings is rather unstable. Just like not every movie can be a hit at the box office, so the former could be more difficult in this sense. ...
The exact making process can vary from one to the other. Because we are the first ones to develop a Meta human being, our approach at the time was similar to the production of a movie. We started with a script outlining the character’s persona and created a sketch based on those pre-set personalities and then modelled it.
Once we were satisfied with the modelling, we launched a market survey, collecting feedback from the general public to see if they think the appearance matches the persona we created. After that, we further polished and enriched the design of the character, which is more of a routine. ...
What do you think is the key that allows virtual beings to build a relationship with audiences emotionally?
Just like through a movie, the public may fall in love with a character but there needs to be some medium, through which it allows audience interaction, helping them to understand the personality of the virtual character and to feel as though it is ‘a person’. ...
MPDAO is like an online community for anyone interested in these new technologies and to meet like-minded friends. There are also periodical online classes for members to share information and discuss opinions. ...
Snap has partnered with Tiffany & Co. to launch the first Lens built with ray tracing. The Lens lets users try on Tiffany Lock bracelets using AR and purchase them directly within the app. ... Ray tracing technology is typically incorporated into offline applications, such as console games, but Snap is now bringing the ultra-realistic quality to mobile. ...
A virtual reality sex worker claims she was denied entry to the U.S. on the basis of “prostitution,” despite doing online, legal work.
Hex makes a living in virtual reality. She’s an online sex worker, hosting shows and posting photos and videos from social VR platform VRChat to her Fansly account, a subscription site for erotic content. ...
The Sex Workers Project has seen an increase in individuals being stopped at borders because of their online presence, he said, and interrogated about whether they’ve engaged in “prostitution.”
“Even if the person is ultimately allowed into the country, the hours of interrogation by immigration can be scary and humiliating,” Clement said. ...
“Because online sex work almost by definition can't include the sort of physical contact that's a prerequisite for ‘sexual intercourse,’ doing exclusively online sex work, on its own, is unlikely to trigger the visa bar,” Clement said. “However, as a caveat to that, there's nothing legally preventing U.S. immigration authorities or the Department of State, with very little evidence or no evidence at all, from presuming that a person who does online sex work may also do in-person sex work as well, leading to a denial of a visa to the United States for ‘engaging in prostitution.’” For tourist visas, the government can deny them for any reason at all, or even without a reason, Clement said. ...
Two thirds (66%) of gamers are interested in AR gaming, where they can interact with the environment and see other players in the virtual casino.
According to a study by LotteryCritic, AR technology will also enable players to customize their experience with various settings and features. This means that each gaming session can be tailored to the individual player’s preferences. ...
