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Living avatars: projections of self, others and power

How does the increasing use of avatars change our sense of self, our relation to others, and the power structures we live in? 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? Are they ours? Do we own them? What about other people’s avatars? How do we relate to them? How do they fit within our lives and our societies? These are some of the questions we mean to answer as part of our multidisciplinary project “Living avatars: projections of self, others, and power.” In a world increasingly more digital, in which AI-generated avatars become influencers, it is important to address these questions before we endanger the way we perceived ourselves, our social interactions and how we empower them on digital platforms.

People

	Name	Telephone	Email	Office
	Dr Marcus De Matos Senior Lecturer in Law T: +44 (0)1895 266896 E: marcus.dematos@brunel.ac.uk	+44 (0)1895 266896	marcus.dematos@brunel.ac.uk	Elliot Jaques 004