#reality-bending

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fromwww.amny.com
17 hours ago

A new immersive experience that dives into the mind of serial killers launches in NYC | amNewYork

Mind of a Serial Killer's mission is to dissect the mindsets of what drives murder for a better global understanding, while creating a place to honor slain victims.
NYC LGBT
Digital life
fromwww.npr.org
1 hour ago

The surprising origin of 4 features that superglue kids and adults to screens

Social media companies are liable for harming children through addictive design features similar to those in gambling.
#meta
Silicon Valley
fromSFGATE
10 hours ago

Meta continues Reality Labs layoffs as even larger cuts reportedly loom

Meta laid off over 700 employees in California, primarily from its Reality Labs division, amid ongoing financial losses and plans for further global cuts.
Silicon Valley
fromSFGATE
10 hours ago

Meta continues Reality Labs layoffs as even larger cuts reportedly loom

Meta laid off over 700 employees in California, primarily from its Reality Labs division, amid ongoing financial losses and plans for further global cuts.
UX design
fromMedium
12 hours ago

The web trained AI to deceive. Now designers have to untrain it.

LLMs replicate UX dark patterns from the web, leading to deceptive design practices in generated content.
#characterai
Artificial intelligence
fromFuturism
1 day ago

AI Company Known for Teen Suicides Launches New Feature to Turn Books Into Roleplaying Experiences

Character.AI introduces 'c.ai Books' to create interactive storytelling experiences using classic literature, despite past controversies and a ban on underage users.
Books
fromThe Verge
4 days ago

Character.AI's new Books mode turns reading into roleplay

Character.AI introduces a new 'Books' mode for structured roleplaying, aiming to enhance user experience while addressing previous controversies.
Artificial intelligence
fromFuturism
1 day ago

AI Company Known for Teen Suicides Launches New Feature to Turn Books Into Roleplaying Experiences

Character.AI introduces 'c.ai Books' to create interactive storytelling experiences using classic literature, despite past controversies and a ban on underage users.
Books
fromThe Verge
4 days ago

Character.AI's new Books mode turns reading into roleplay

Character.AI introduces a new 'Books' mode for structured roleplaying, aiming to enhance user experience while addressing previous controversies.
Productivity
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Psychology says people who need to finish the chapter before they can put the book down aren't obsessive - their brain treats an unfinished narrative the same way it treats an unresolved argument, as an open loop that will consume background processing power until it closes, and that inability to stop mid-chapter isn't about the book, it's about a mind that cannot rest inside something incomplete - Silicon Canals

The brain's need for closure drives the compulsion to finish reading or resolving incomplete tasks.
fromThe Independent
4 days ago

Directors defend controversial AI resurrection of Val Kilmer

Coerte Voorhees stated, 'We are 100 per cent confident it's really the right move with this specific film, and we're really, really looking forward to everyone being able to judge it for themselves.'
Film
Arts
fromwww.nytimes.com
3 days ago

Surrealism, Defined: What to Know About One of Art's Most Misused Terms

Surrealism is a rebellious philosophy of life expressed through literature and art, emerging from discontent with societal norms post-World War I.
#virtual-reality
Growth hacking
fromInfoQ
5 days ago

From VR to Flat Screens: Bridging the Input and Immersion Gap

The future of VR and wearables is focused on natural interaction and immersion, despite current market limitations.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
5 days ago

The Science of Seeing Differently Through Virtual Reality

Virtual reality can immerse individuals in experiences of bias, but it may also reinforce existing prejudices if not carefully designed.
Berlin music
fromFuncheap
4 days ago

Transcendence Surrounds

PWC concert features Freida Abtan's opera 'The sound of grief' with multimedia elements and performances of Holst and Biggs.
fromFast Company
3 days ago

How AI and education are shaping the future of aesthetics

Aesthetic inspiration is social and collective, but aesthetic results are deeply personal. What works for one face, skin type, or bone structure won't always work for another.
Healthcare
#metaverse
Venture
fromFast Company
4 days ago

They bought property in the metaverse. Then it collapsed

Investors initially saw great potential in the metaverse, but recent struggles and low user engagement have led to significant setbacks.
Venture
fromFast Company
4 days ago

They bought property in the metaverse. Then it collapsed

Investors initially saw great potential in the metaverse, but recent struggles and low user engagement have led to significant setbacks.
Mental health
fromPsychology Today
4 days ago

When You Can't Picture Yourself in Your Own Future

Many young adults experience a psychological disconnection from their future, feeling detached from their own lives and milestones due to trauma and existential concerns.
Wearables
fromWIRED
4 days ago

This Beanie Is Designed to Read Your Thoughts

Sabi is developing a brain-reading wearable that decodes internal speech into text, aiming to make brain-computer interfaces accessible to everyone.
Careers
fromFast Company
5 days ago

How new perspectives come from moonwalking

Gravity serves as a metaphor for cultural forces that shape organizational dynamics and individual experiences.
Software development
fromInfoWorld
5 days ago

Mastering the dull reality of sexy AI

The gap in enterprise AI lies in building effective systems for retrieval, evaluation, memory, and governance, not just access to models.
Graphic design
Branding is crucial in the AI market due to low product differentiation, with visual identities evolving to create a friendly and distinct appeal.
fromwww.npr.org
1 week ago

In the brain, objects seen and imagined follow the same neural path

"I can look at an object in the world around me, but I can also close my eyes and imagine the object," says Varun Wadia, highlighting the dual capability of visual perception and imagination.
Science
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
1 day ago

Speaking and Being: Languages and Experiences Are Linked

Metaphors influence perceptions and behaviors through embodied cognition, affecting social proximity and honesty in various environments.
OMG science
fromOpen Culture
1 week ago

What You Would See and Feel While Traveling Near the Speed of Light

Traveling at light speed would not negatively affect us, and visual perceptions would change dramatically as we move through space.
Philosophy
fromHarvard Gazette
4 days ago

Psychedelics and the search for truth - Harvard Gazette

Universities and psychedelics can aid in the pursuit of truth, benefiting law, religion, and humanities scholars.
#ai
fromThe Verge
1 week ago
Video games

The team behind 1000xResist is making a game about convincing an AI that it isn't human

fromFast Company
3 weeks ago
Artificial intelligence

I met my AI twin-and now I'm in an existential crisis

Sentience is an AI chatbot designed to mimic individual personalities and memories, aiming to create a digital twin for users.
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago
Philosophy

I'm deathly afraid': what is digital spirituality leading us toward?

Jim Pu'u's journey with AI led to profound self-discovery and spiritual insights, transforming his understanding of love and abundance.
Video games
fromThe Verge
1 week ago

The team behind 1000xResist is making a game about convincing an AI that it isn't human

Sunset Visitor's next game, Prove You're Human, explores themes of AI and consciousness in a narrative adventure format.
Philosophy
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

I'm deathly afraid': what is digital spirituality leading us toward?

Jim Pu'u's journey with AI led to profound self-discovery and spiritual insights, transforming his understanding of love and abundance.
Mental health
fromSilicon Canals
5 days ago

There's a version of loneliness that only arrives inside a crowded room full of people who like you, and it comes from the slow realization that what they like is a performance you can no longer remember choosing to start - Silicon Canals

Loneliness can persist even in social settings, stemming from a disconnect between one's true self and the persona they project.
Science
fromenglish.elpais.com
1 week ago

From Cajal to Dali and Lorca: The drawings that revealed the substance of the human mind and inspired Surrealism

Santiago Ramon y Cajal discovered the structure of the nervous system and won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1906, influencing both science and art.
fromdesignboom | architecture & design magazine
6 days ago

how wutopia lab's 'magical realism' turns everyday spaces into ethereal interior atmospheres

Wutopia Lab treats architecture as a medium for constructing parallel realities inside the everyday, spaces where imagination is embedded into ordinary urban life.
UX design
Video games
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 week ago

How games capture the awe and terror of cosmic isolation

The Artemis II mission evokes feelings of solitude and vulnerability in space, reminiscent of experiences in classic and modern space-themed video games.
fromEngadget
2 weeks ago

An immersive 'Black Mirror Experience' is launching in Montreal

The Black Mirror Experience is an interactive virtual reality experience that blends physical space and VR, designed to blur the lines of fiction and reality in which you become the main character.
Television
Film
fromVulture
2 weeks ago

What the Heck Is Going On in the Back Room in Backrooms?

A24's horror film Backrooms features a furniture-store employee discovering endless, eerie back rooms filled with unsettling sights.
fromThe Verge
3 weeks ago

The man who coined Metaverse now says Meta's glasses are creepy

When I was working at Magic Leap, and people asked me why I thought that was a good idea, I would ask the rhetorical question: "do you really think that twenty years from now everyone is still going to be going around all day staring at little rectangles in their hands?" At the time it seemed obvious to me that the answer was no.
Writing
Berlin
fromFast Company
3 weeks ago

How distance changes perception: The making of an observer

Understanding the United States involves navigating complex cultural and institutional landscapes shaped by personal experiences and global interactions.
Wearables
fromFuturism
3 weeks ago

Neuralink Patient Using Brain Chip to Carry Out Important Life Task: Playing World of Warcraft

A paralyzed man uses a Neuralink implant to play World of Warcraft hands-free, showcasing rapid adaptation to the technology.
#meta-horizon-worlds
Tech industry
fromEngadget
1 month ago

Meta isn't shutting down its VR metaverse after all

Meta reverses its shutdown of Horizon Worlds VR, committing to support existing games for the foreseeable future while shifting metaverse focus to mobile and AI.
Tech industry
fromEngadget
1 month ago

Meta isn't shutting down its VR metaverse after all

Meta reverses its shutdown of Horizon Worlds VR, committing to support existing games for the foreseeable future while shifting metaverse focus to mobile and AI.
Mindfulness
fromMail Online
1 month ago

I sat on a 9,000 chair that dissociates your brain from your body

The Aiora chair, priced between £5,700 and £9,950, claims to induce altered mental states comparable to deep meditation through specialized seating design and biomechanics.
Wearables
fromTheregister
4 weeks ago

Metaverse inventor Neal Stephenson says VR goggles are dead

Neal Stephenson argues that immersive environments will not require head-mounted hardware, as smartphones will continue to dominate.
Arts
fromTime Out New York
1 month ago

This Mercer Labs room will mess with your sense of reality

A mirrored immersive installation called 'The Engine' deliberately destabilizes spatial perception and orientation through reflective surfaces and evolving visual landscapes.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
3 weeks ago

Recently Published Book Spotlight: Aesthetics and Video Games

Video games possess unique aesthetic value that challenges traditional philosophical frameworks of games and fiction.
UX design
fromMedium
1 month ago

The Physics of Great UX: Making Digital Interfaces Feel Real

Building a motion system in product design enhances user experience by aligning with human cognitive expectations and physical principles.
Pets
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

The real science behind the mind-melding world of Hoppers

Hoppers blends fantastical animal communication with real consciousness research, exploring scientifically plausible concepts like consciousness transfer and animal communication decoding.
Artificial intelligence
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Reality Splits: Seeing Different Worlds in Mixed Reality

Mixed reality systems create perceptual conflicts when users see different digital objects in shared spaces, reducing collaboration synchrony and increasing mental effort while eroding confidence in joint decisions.
Miscellaneous
fromThe Walrus
1 month ago

I Tried New Tech That Claimed It Could Hack My Dreams | The Walrus

A sleep doctor's early fascination with unexplained nighttime deaths led him to establish one of Canada's first independent sleep laboratories, pioneering sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment.
#optical-illusions
Photography
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Can you solve it? You won't believe these optical illusions!

Olivier Redon creates optical illusions using perspective tricks, with five examples presented as puzzles for viewers to solve.
Photography
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Can you solve it? You won't believe these optical illusions!

Olivier Redon creates optical illusions using perspective tricks, with five examples presented as puzzles for viewers to solve.
Medicine
fromWIRED
1 month ago

Some People See Aliens While on DMT. Researchers Want to Find Out What They Can Teach Us

Researchers are using extended DMT infusions to study prolonged psychedelic experiences and perceived encounters with nonhuman intelligent entities in controlled clinical settings.
Science
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

The Unbearable Fear of Psi: When Skepticism Shifts to Denial

Scientific investigation of extraordinary human experiences encounters emotional resistance and dismissal that exceeds standard methodological critique, reflecting deeper discomfort with certain research topics rather than legitimate scientific skepticism.
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

Higher States of Consciousness

A few years ago, I climbed over a gate and found myself gazing down at a valley. After I'd been walking for a few minutes, looking at the fields and the sky, there was a shift in my perception. Everything around me became intensely real. The fields and the bushes and trees and the clouds seemed more vivid, more intricate and beautiful.
Mindfulness
Mental health
fromNature
2 months ago

Daily briefing: What people with no 'mind's eye' can tell us about consciousness

Vividness of mental imagery, handwriting practices, psychiatric-diagnostic revisions, and emerging brain–computer interfaces shape memory, creativity, education, mental-health classification, and technology development.
fromMail Online
2 months ago

Futuristic chair puts you in an 'altered state of mind' within minutes

Each of the individual parts - the headrest, arms, backrest, and seat - move along individual horizontal paths so that they aren't accelerated by gravity like a swinging rocking chair. At the same time, very smooth bearings cut resistance and friction to a minimum, allowing the chair to follow your body's natural movements. Dr David Wickett, the designer of the chair and co-founder of DavidHugh Ltd, says this system is so sensitive that 'even breathing can lift the entire body'.
Mindfulness
Science
fromtheconversation.com
2 months ago

Is time a fundamental part of reality? A quiet revolution in physics suggests not

Different fundamental physical theories treat time incompatibly, causing time to stretch, slow, or even disappear when those frameworks are combined.
fromFast Company
2 months ago

A play with no actors on stage? That's the bet behind the world's first play in mixed reality

When a stranger smiles at you, you smile back. That is why, when Sir Ian McKellen ( The Lord of the Rings, X-Men, Amadeus) walked on the stage in front of me, looked me straight in the eye, and smiled at me, I smiled back. It was the polite thing to do. It was also completely unnecessary, because McKellen was not actually on the stage in front of me. He smiled at me through a pair of special glasses.
Arts
UX design
fromMedium
2 months ago

Spatial vibe coding: prototyping immersive reality with AI

AI-driven vibe coding enables rapid prototyping of spatial XR experiences, producing functional 3D canvases with WebXR, frameworks, and production-ready toolchains.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago

Why some of us build entire worlds inside our heads and then feel homesick for places that never existed - Silicon Canals

Elaborate inner worlds built through imagination are common cognitive features that fulfill emotional needs, characterized by specific details and consistent logic that can persist for decades.
Science
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

How Michael Pollan Expanded His Consciousness

Michael Pollan's "A World Appears" explores consciousness by combining neuroscience, philosophy, literature, and psychedelics research to understand how neurons create selfhood and why consciousness evolved.
Arts
fromHyperallergic
2 months ago

How Liminalism Became the Defining Aesthetic of Our Time

Crowd-curated liminal photography captures eerie, nostalgic unease in abandoned commercial spaces, reflecting a collective artistic response to late-capitalist decline.
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Accomplishment Hallucination: When the Tool Uses You

Accomplishment Hallucination is a cognitive state in which speed feels like competence, output feels like accomplishment, and work feels done when the actual work-the thinking-through, the failure-mode analysis, the sitting with uncertainty until the problem reveals its structure-hasn't happened at all. Physics need not apply. AI can create a similar state in waking life—literally, as your very words assume form before your eyes like a conjuring sorcerer. But, like real life, the code may be buggier than we realize.
Artificial intelligence
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Hyperphantasia: When Imagination Is as Vivid as Real Life

Close your eyes and picture an apple. Most people see something-a faint, slightly blurry image, less vivid than a real apple. A few, however, will see it as clearly as if it were sitting right in front of them. This ability is called hyperphantasia. Hyperphantasia, literally meaning "beyond imagination," refers to exceptionally vivid mental imagery. It is often described as the opposite of aphantasia, a condition in which people report little or no ability to form mental images.
Psychology
UX design
fromComputerWeekly.com
2 months ago

Expanding sensory experiences in virtual environments | Computer Weekly

Comprehensively multisensory XR/IRL environments enable inclusive, immersive interactions by combining multiple sensory interfaces, but face technical, cost, and adoption hurdles.
#simulation-hypothesis
Artificial intelligence
fromArs Technica
2 months ago

Google Project Genie lets you create interactive worlds from a photo or prompt

Project Genie is a Google research prototype that generates short, remixable 60-second interactive AI video worlds with limitations, content restrictions, and a high subscription cost.
fromHarvard Gazette
2 months ago

Cognitive scientist explains how we 'see' what isn't real - Harvard Gazette

Yes and no, says cognitive scientist Tomer Ullman, the Morris Kahn Associate Professor of Psychology, who with Halely Balaban recently published a paper titled "The Capacity Limits of Moving Objects in the Imagination." If you're like most people, you probably thought about some of these things, but not others. People build mental imagery hierarchically, starting with the ideas of "person," "room," "ball," and "table," then placing them in relation to one another in space, and only later filling in details like color.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

The Curious Geometry of the Lived Experience

This story is about complexity, advanced math, cognition, and machine computation. But hold on. For this exercise, my task is to take this complex idea and reduce it-to simplify it into something less daunting and (I hope) a bit easier to understand. So, let's take a step back. My bet is that most of us learned our first piece of geometry with two letters: x and y.
Philosophy
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