Empathic Computing: The Endless Possibilities with Prof. Mark Billinghurst

This episode features Louis Rosenberg, PhD. He is the CEO and Chief Scientist of Unanimous AI, a technology company that develops artificial swarm intelligence technology such as the award-winning Swarm AI, which has been used by a wide range of organizations from Fortune 500 corporations to the United Nations. He has been awarded over 300 patents for VR, AR, and AI technologies. Louis also founded a number of successful companies including Immersion Corporation, Microscribe, and Outland Research. Louis also volunteers as the Chief Scientist of the Responsible Metaverse Alliance and as the Global Technology Advisor to the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI). He is also on the advisory board of the Future of Marketing Institute. In this special episode, we dig into the intrinsic beginnings of VR and how Louis built the foundations for what we now know as AR. We explored the emergence of immersive technology and the important role that Louis played as a pioneer, his move into the AI realm and his dedication to the more safe and more ethical use of the Metaverse and AI.

This episode features Matthew Ball, the CEO of Epyllion. Matthew is renowned for his thought-provoking essays and contributions to publications such as the Economist, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and wrote the August 8, 2022 cover story for Time Magazine. He has previously held the position of Head of Strategy for Amazon Studios and has also been an executive at Accenture and The Cherin Group’s Otter Media. Matthew Ball’s work in the Metaverse has been acclaimed by some of the biggest names in technology today, including the CEO and Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg. In this special episode, we take listeners on a journey exploring Matthew’s unique origins from fighting wildfires to shaking up the Metaverse conversation with his international best-selling and highly acclaimed book ‘The Metaverse And How It Will Revolutionize Everything‘. Showing himself to be every bit the luminary figure in the industry, the multi-talented Matthew moves past the buzzwords and tackles our major questions surrounding his book, metaverse misconceptions and potential, AI, intellectual property and ethics.

This episode will feature Jeff Anderson, VR/AR Developer at Mancini Duffy’s Design Lab and Co-Founder of The Toolbelt, a platform that provides access to immersive technology resources for architects and designers. Jeff’s story begins as an architectural designer who recognized early on the impact VR could have on architecture. He has since dedicated his career to leveraging immersive tech to improve the architecture and design process. The Toolbelt is just one example of how Jeff is using VR/AR to empower architects and designers.

This episode will feature Amy LaMeyer, Managing Partner at WXR Fund, a venture fund investing in early stage gender diverse companies leveraging virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence – core technologies related to the Metaverse. Amy believes now is a rare opportunity to build a more inclusive foundation for the next wave of computing.

This episode will feature Victor Lucas, the CEO/Founder of EP Media. Victor Lucas is an established figure within the world of Canadian television. He is a producer and personality in the gaming industry. Victor was a co-founder of the Canadian Video Game Awards. He has served as a judge for the Game Awards in LA. In this episode, we discuss Victor’s background and legacy within the gaming and broadcast industry. We ask him about the speculations and his excitement surrounding VR in gaming. Victor also shares his thoughts and opinions regarding the immersive tech that he has experienced, the divide and war between consoles and the future of the Metaverse.

This episode will feature Tad Leckman, the Director of Learning and Development at Activision Blizzard. Tad has a background in entertainment and education, spending the past twenty years focused on the learning and development of artists, designers, writers, and engineers. He had built a successful career as a digital artist and supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, worked on critically acclaimed series like Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video games, and taught full-time at the University of California Santa Cruz.  In this episode, Tad and our hosts delve into the deep end of CGI and special effects, with Tad applying his unique experiences to growing technologies in AR and the Metaverse. The conversation also focuses on the development of storytelling in immersive technologies, with particular attention given to the ways in which techniques honed in traditional media like movies and theatre productions can be transferred to the creation of virtual worlds.

This episode will feature Tiago Falk, the Scientific Head of the Multisensory/multimodal Signal Analysis and Enhancement Lab (MuSAE Lab) and Professor at the University of Quebec’s National Institute of Scientific Research in Montreal, Canada. Tiago and our hosts tackle questions surrounding the use of signal processing to increase AI intelligence, while discussing the ethics of bio-tech in the Metaverse, real-time human factors measurements in XR, and the effects of multisensory experiences on multimodal biosignals. In addition, the conversation explores the ‘internet of senses’, which has been described as the ‘Metaverse on Steroids’.

In this episode, our hosts will talk to Matthieu Lorrain, the Head of Creative for Google Immersive Partnerships and an NYC-based executive creative director that specializes in Next-Gen experiences and product innovation. Matthieu is also the co-founder of fAke Artists, a creative collective exploring the future of post-reality experiences. Matthieu and our hosts will take us on an action-packed journey through his beginnings as VJ (Video-Jockey), his digital media experience through to his interests in Augmented Reality, and building a true fan experience with Disney and Lucasfilm. They will also traverse the landscape of the Metaverse and what it means to build an open system that can power the Metaverse?

This episode will feature Prof. Mark Billinghurst of Empathic Computing Lab, he has 25 years of experience in the VR space and a wealth of knowledge and expertise in human-computer interface technology, particularly in the area of Augmented Reality. Our hosts asked Mark about his work in ‘Wearable Computing’ and the idea of these interfaces addressing the idea of what is possible when you merge ubiquitous computing and communications on the body. They explore what is possible with more empathetic computing and Mark’s work at the University of Australia developing sensors and tech to measure brain activity and how to unite people and make collaboration and connections with people more effectively.

This episode will feature Nikk Mitchell, a Kenyan-born Canadian VR veteran in China. Founder and CEO of FXG-VR, he also created and developed China’s first VR community website containing VR-themed media, developer resources, forums, and chat groups. Nikk managed one of the first VR communities in the country, from which a number of successful VR companies (including Ximmerse, KAT VR, and VRplay) were formed. The first iteration of this website, oculus-china.com, was purchased by Facebook. Our hosts will ask Nikk about his early life and interests, his decision to drop out of Art School in Vancouver to move to China, and his growth as an entrepreneur, developer, and filmmaker. Along the way, Nikk shares his expert insight into the nuances of the Chinese XR marketplace before discussing the future possibilities afforded by XR technology.