Bree McEwan

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128 Following
65 Posts
Communicologist. Associate Professor @ University of Toronto, UTM, ICCIT. MSU & ASU alumna. Research Interests: Social Interaction/Social Media/VR #QR24 conference co-organizer.
Students, we invite you to submit proposals to the #ICA24 Communication & Technology Division and Mobile Communication Division Doctoral Consortium. Proposals are due 1 February 2024. More information here:
https://buff.ly/48U410A
“These creator pages that cover news stories have more impact and reach than traditional media.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/31/creator-economy-news-outlets-influencers/
Content creators surge past legacy media as news hits a tipping point

A recent report found that while the audience for traditional news outlets is shrinking, the online audience for independent news sources is growing.

The Washington Post
#AoIR2023 Definitely stick around for our reception at Reading Terminal Market, but the entrance is 12th and Filbert, not Arch St. Door Six. Under the iconic Market neon sign. Then menu maps is in Sched! Download and plan your route through the food options! And bring your name badge! https://aoir.social/@AoIR/111273147505088826
AoIR (@[email protected])

Curious about how #AoIR2023 dinner tonight will work? We will have a Walking Banquet. If you check out the list of vendors you can see who will have which items out for your enjoyment. https://sched.co/1T6c2 PLEASE wear your badge. We will be checking AoIR badges at the door for entry. Entrance is on Arch Street - https://maps.app.goo.gl/diSoecaFZeftmeLg9

Mastodon
Free things I picked up at the #AoIR2023 coffee break. Thanks @meryl for the signed copy!
I learned today via FDA why and when the new Covid boosters will be ready
—The reason for the delay is that the Covid Public Health Emergency ended May 11, 2023, so it requires a Product Licensing Application (PLA) instead of an EUA
—Now projected to be available ~9/15

We're proposing a SXSW panel to discuss the reality and virtuality of AI agents in social VR at SXSW2024!

The process involves audiences voting for panels that they want to see at SXSW. The voting goes on until August 20th, so please cast your votes for our panel by clicking on the link below and clicking on the UP arrow!

https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/133972

Who is Real? Augmentation vs Authenticity of AI Agents in VR

Social VR allows multiple users to synchronously interact in a shared virtual space & presents an exciting future in the metaverse. While interactions mostly involve human users, advancements in generative AI have hastened the mass creation & integration of AI-controlled virtual agents in social VR. Organizations may be tempted to use this quickened pipeline to populate social VR worlds with dynamic agents, though there are factors to consider. In this panel, XR experts will explore these questions & offer tips for using AI to build social VR worlds for business, education, and health.

SXSW PanelPicker®

For scholars and students of the #history of #VideoGames, the #library at my institution - the University of #Toronto #Mississauga - holds the Syd Bolton Collection - almost 14,000 video games, 100s of consoles and systems, over 5,000 issues of game magazines, hundreds of books and literature, peripherals, and related technology, materials, and documents from the past 50 years. It is one of the largest such collections in the world. Check it out. #histodons @histodons

https://collections.utm.utoronto.ca/collections/syd-bolton-collection

Syd Bolton Collection - Archives & Special Collections

More journalists making the connection. See this article by Sharon Goldman.

"Other AI experts have also pointed out, both publicly and privately, that they are concerned by the companies’ publicly-acknowledged ties to the EA community — which is supported by tarnished tech figures like FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried — as well as various TESCREAL movements such as longtermism and transhumanism. "

https://venturebeat.com/ai/doomer-advisor-joins-musks-xai-the-4th-top-research-lab-focused-on-ai-apocalypse/

Doomer AI advisor joins Musk’s xAI, the 4th top research lab focused on AI apocalypse

A quartet of the world's most famous AI labs — OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic and now xAI — are laser-focused on AI's existential risks.

VentureBeat
#ICA_CAT [self]-nominations are due 25 July for vice-chair; student & early career rep; and international liaison - these positions will begin in 2024. More details are in your email or here https://www.facebook.com/icacat/posts/pfbid02otwy4mq9C3LrLFcNvRmXzV9YBvXk6E4hJE7rygka2U57Ydui9yt64e5ZupSPNugGl
ICA Communication and Technology Division

CAT Comrades: This year's ICA elections are drawing closer; and as announced at the CAT business meeting, this year our division is electing three positions: (1) Vice-Chair, (2) Student and Early...

“In April, a group of academics, journalists, and other researchers called the Coalition for Independent Technology Research sent a letter to Twitter asking it to help them maintain access. The coalition surveyed researchers and found that Twitter’s new restrictions jeopardized more than 250 different projects. It would also signal the end of at least 76 “long-term efforts,” the letter says, including code packages and tools.” https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/31/23739084/twitter-elon-musk-api-policy-chilling-academic-research
Twitter just closed the book on academic research

Twitter’s restrictive new data-sharing policies since Elon Musk’s takeover have already pushed some researchers off the social media platform.

The Verge