From The Theme
ADVANCED HUMAN COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

WHAT IF?
What if we could investigate the interaction of discourse and presence in virtual worlds?

WHAT WE SET OUT TO DO
We set out to conduct a preliminary exploration of the notion of “spatial presence” in virtual environments – the sense of “being there” that users of virtual-reality technology often experience.

WHAT WE FOUND
This project developed a typology of presence inducing media (ie book, film, theater, virtual reality) along categories such as sensory realism, multi-modality, cross-modal consistency, interactivity and naturalness. Researchers proposed a hybrid model of presence in virtual worlds that combines two major theories – that presence arises from perceptual illusion, and that presence arises from deliberate cognitive pretense. This hybrid theory of virtual presence is built on the understanding that perceptual systems can be modular, and incorporates imaginative, emotional and autonomic systems.

PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROJECT
John Perry is Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Stanford University and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of California, Riverside. He has made significant contributions to philosophy in the fields of logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. He is the Co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Philosophy Talk” with Ken Taylor.

Cole Leahy is a data engineer at Grand Rounds, building a path to optimal health and healthcare that’s accessible to everyone, everywhere. He was a PhD student in logic and foundations of mathematics at MIT and an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University.