Living Avatars: Self, Other, and Power

As one of the UK’s foremost technical universities, Brunel has a rich history of world-leading research, innovation and teaching excellence. We are heavily involved with our local community in West London and run a wide range of events throughout the year that members of the public can get involved with, from public lectures on our research, to arts and cultural events.

Brunel University of London

How does the increasing use of avatars change our sense of self, our relation to others, and the power structures we live in?

Auditorium - Eastern Gateway Building (Brunel University London)

Brunel Research Festival

Showcasing the world-class research carried out by colleagues from across the University, the Festival is a month-long celebration of the diverse local and global benefits of our research. Free and open to all. 
brunel.ac.uk/BRF

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.

F﻿eaturing:<ul><li>Dr Annie Chan </li><li>Dr Andra Ivanescu</li><li>Dr Shona Koren-Paterson </li><li>Dr Marcus Vinicius De Matos </li></ul>C﻿haired by Professor Akram Khan, Brunel’s Public Engagement Champion and Professor of Experimental Particle Physics &amp; High Performance Computing

This event is part of the Brunel Research Festival, which returns this May for a packed programme of online and in-person activities, celebrating cutting-edge and challenge-led research at Brunel and beyond. 
Showcasing the world-class research carried out by colleagues from across the University, the Festival is a month-long celebration of the diverse local and global benefits of our research. Free and open to all. E﻿xplore the programme: <a href="https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-Festival" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">brunel.ac.uk/brf</a>

Living Avatars: Self, Other, and Power

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Living Avatars: Self, Other, and Power

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