We've all heard the hype, the promises of digital utopias, the slightly unsettling vision of Mark Zuckerberg's avatar. But it’s not just the goofy headsets or the goofy leisure suit wearing that is real—something deeper and much more substantive is going on. AI isn’t only constructing the metaverse; it’s constructing you into it. Or, more accurately, a version of you. A shimmering, optimized, algorithmically-approved version. And that's where the real unease begins.

Are You the Algorithm's Puppet?

Think about it. Each action you take, each like, share, retweet, adds up. Even the few seconds you spend on a product page contribute real-time information to the AI engine. It’s teaching you to develop taste, anticipating your needs, and gently guiding you towards… what, exactly? A pre-determined path of consumption and conformity? It's like living in a funhouse mirror, but instead of distorting your physical image, it's distorting your very sense of self.

This isn't just about targeted ads. This is the nightmare of the Algorithmic Self, as researchers like Ruha Benjamin have labeled it. An algorithmically generated self that is in an unending state of perfection, iteration, targeting, and reincarnation as the “perfected” you. It’s an echo of the future, and that future is your brain.

Along the way, I finally picked up an early graphic novel masterpiece, Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles. What stunned me most was how applicable it has become to our present metaverse and AI landscape. Together, the Invisibles make up an inspired cadre of movement insurgents. Armed with superhuman abilities, they wage an epic secret war against a shadowy cabal that controls humanity through disinformation. Sounds familiar? In the wrong hands, the metaverse would be a powerful tool for oppression. It can do this in a much more insidious way—through the things it leaves out, shaping our values and dreams without our awareness.

Losing Ourselves in the Reflection?

What we were all sold on when the metaverse was first introduced at proper length was connection, creativity, and self expression. What does it mean to filter out self-expression through an algorithm like AI? It usually just goes for the most clicks, engagement, and maybe humor, foiling any sense of authenticity along the way.

  • Constant Optimization: The pressure to present an "ideal" version of yourself online is already intense. AI amplifies this, creating a feedback loop where we're constantly striving to meet the algorithm's expectations.
  • Erosion of Introspection: When AI is constantly telling us what we want, do we even bother to ask ourselves anymore? Are we losing our ability to introspect, to truly understand our own motivations and desires?
  • Bias Amplification: AI isn't neutral. It's trained on data that reflects existing biases, which means it can perpetuate and even amplify inequalities in the metaverse. This leads to the construction of digital identities that are not representative and fair.

The rise of the Algorithmic Self raises an ethical challenge to our individual autonomy to be free from algorithmic determinism. As AI increasingly creates the preferences, decisions, and self-understanding for individuals, the individual’s experience of having authorship over their own life may fade away.

Imagine a world where your metaverse avatar is AI-tailored to maximize social acceptance and financial discourse. It starts to feel so much like you that even the people around you can’t see the difference. Would that be progress? Or a kind of digital lobotomy?

Reclaiming Our Digital Souls?

So, what can we do? Have we really resigned ourselves to being puppets of the algorithm. I don't think so. The answer, as researchers Madalina Andreescu (2025) and Michael Kohn (2024) argue, is algorithmic literacy. We need to understand both how these systems work and their effects on our worldview. Only then can we truly protect against their pernicious influence.

We need to actively engage in self-construction. Form new digital habits that encourage reflective awareness and critical, skeptical scrutiny of whatever AI thrusts our way. Secondly, read widely and across different genres and formats, as Mhlambi and Tiribelli (2023) recommend.

  • Cultivate Digital Mindfulness: Be conscious of your online habits. Ask yourself why you're clicking on certain things, why you're feeling certain emotions.
  • Diversify Your Information Diet: Break out of your filter bubble. Seek out perspectives that challenge your assumptions and broaden your horizons.
  • Embrace Imperfection: Resist the urge to constantly optimize your online persona. Embrace your flaws, your quirks, your authentic self.
  • Support Ethical AI Design: Demand that AI developers prioritize human well-being over engagement metrics. Advocate for AI systems that augment introspection rather than replace it, as Calvo et al. (2020) suggests.

Rather, we envision the metaverse as being a deeply beneficial and powerful creativity and expressive tool. We should pay attention, too, to how AI is posing these risks, these more insidious ways that AI is crafting our digital doppelgangers. We need to reclaim our psychological power. If we want AI to work for us – instead of the other way around – we need to take a closer look at how, as Aizenberg et al. It's time to look in the real mirror and ask ourselves: who do we want to be in this digital world? How do we make sure that the Algorithmic Self doesn’t overwrite the authentic Original?

The metaverse has the potential to be a powerful tool for creativity and connection. But we need to be aware of the risks, the subtle ways that AI is shaping our digital selves. We need to reclaim our psychological agency, to ensure that AI serves the self, rather than the reverse, as Aizenberg et al. (2025) implies. It's time to look in the real mirror and ask ourselves: who do we want to be in this digital world? And how can we ensure that the Algorithmic Self doesn't erase the real thing?