Living Avatars: Self, Other, and Power

When we think about avatars, we think of James Cameron’s blue creatures on Pandora, or orcs and elves in fantasy online games.

They could not be further from our everyday lives. But we all have digital representations of ourselves, not only in online games, but also on social media, and increasingly in many areas of our day-to-day lives, in those digital spaces in which we spend increasing amounts of time.

But how do we relate to these avatars?

Are they us?

Are they part of us, better versions of us, not us at all?

Do we own them?

What about other people’s avatars?

In an increasingly digital world, in which AI-generated avatars can become influencers, and the promises of the Metaverse may not be as far-fetched as they seem, this panel aims to address these questions from a variety of perspectives including psychology, games studies, and law, before we endanger the way we perceive ourselves and lose track of how power is mirrored and created throughout digital platforms.

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