Abstract

As artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies converge, immersive platforms increasingly host AI-enabled agents that simulate human emotions, behaviors, and social cues. These developments are fundamentally altering how users perceive identity, agency, and ethical responsibility in digital spaces. Human-like AI agents in VR can engage users in seemingly authentic interactions, simulate emotional responsiveness, and blur the line between real and artificial presence (Glikson & Woolley, 2020; Chandra et al., 2022). This growing realism deepens user engagement, but also introduces ethical vulnerabilities such as emotional manipulation and misinformation (Seymour et al., 2021). This research explores the moral ambiguity created by these interactions. We propose a conceptual framework to understand the domain where the physical and virtual worlds intersect – a “blurred boundary” zone where traditional distinctions between real and artificial entities dissolve. Within this domain, avatars may represent either real humans or artificial agents, and may appear as either realistic or visibly fictional. For instance, a human user might adopt the avatar of a mythical creature, while an AI agent may appear convincingly human and behave with uncanny social fluency. These cases pose ethical challenges: when avatars obfuscate identity, they complicate moral interpretation, making it difficult to assess intention or assign responsibility. We argue that ethical governance in immersive platforms must account for this ambiguity. Scenarios involving stylized representations of real individuals – such as anthropomorphic avatars – may lead to harmful interactions being dismissed or misjudged due to perceived artificiality. Conversely, emotionally persuasive AI agents may evoke trust or empathy from users who are unaware of their non-human status, exposing them to risks of manipulation. In both cases, moral reasoning falters when actions occur in a space where appearance, identity, and agency are decoupled. To address these concerns, we propose a pragmatic stance: artificial lives matter. This does not suggest granting artificial entities moral status equivalent to humans, but rather calls for an ethical posture that errs on the side of caution in immersive environments where the line between human and artificial, or fictional and real, is perceptually blurred. When an AI agent appears emotionally responsive and socially intelligent, or when a human user is represented through a fantastical avatar, the interaction warrants ethical consideration regardless of the entity’s true nature. In light of this, we argue that immersive VR platforms should adopt governance frameworks that prioritize both intentions and consequences. Actions taken against avatars, whether controlled by humans or algorithms, should not be dismissed on the basis of presumed artificiality alone. Similarly, developers and platform designers bear responsibility for ensuring that avatar design, behavioral realism, and interaction patterns do not exploit users’ cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities. By emphasizing ethical inclusivity in how we interpret and respond to virtual actions, we propose to a broader rethinking of moral responsibility in socio-technical systems where the artificial is increasingly lifelike—and where the stakes of interaction are anything but virtual.

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