Abstract

With the rapid rise of immersive platforms, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), the world was abuzz (again) with the lofty promises of the metaverse and rosy visions of Ready Player One style technology. Now that the dust has settled and the hype has moved on, what do we really know about extended and blended realities and what does the future hold? Emerging science indicates that human experiences in immersive virtual environments are shaped by the dynamic interactions between user characteristics, media features, and situational contexts. How do virtual experiences influence human minds and how do they transfer into the physical world to continue impacting our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?  This talk will cover findings from nearly two decades of lab and field research from University of Georgia's Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems (CACHE) on the multisensory extensions of our realities, with an emphasis on the media psychological mechanisms and outcomes of user experiences.

Biography

Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn (Ph.D., Stanford University) is a Professor at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia. She is the founding director of the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems (CACHE; https://www.ugavr.com) and most recently served as co-editor-in-chief of Media Psychology. She has spent nearly two decades investigating how immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, wearables, sensors, and AI embodied agents can transform traditional rules of communication and social interactions. Under Dr. Ahn's leadership, the CACHE center has gained global recognition as a research powerhouse and thought leader in human-computer and human-machine interactions, producing timely and critical knowledge on how virtual experiences in extended and blended realities shape the way that people think, feel, and behave. Her work has received over $12 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and published in numerous top-tier outlets in the fields of communication, health, and engineering.