The next decade is going to be wild, and weird. The wave of disruption sweeping over our society from the Big Bang-like creation of the Internet seems to only be accelerating, and many long dreamed-of technologies such as AI, AR, VR, decentralized trust, and biological augmentation seem to be on the cusp of delivering seismic shocks to our institutions, cultures, and even what it means to be human.
These changes will come to be seen as the catalysts for the arrival of second-wave liberalism. Much like the first Enlightenment, we should expect the second one to be tumultuous, confusing, and at times, scary. Many will find themselves in a world they no longer recognize, much like those who were terrified as the old order of the church and aristocracy crumbled around them and the great chain of being unraveled.
One thread which will emerge in this new tapestry of ideas is the largely liberal movement of avatarism. Much like the printing press was a technological prerequisite for endowed rights like freedom of speech to become recognized and secured, the rights which avatarism will seek to secure will gain universal relevance with the arrival of virtual and augmented reality visors (described below.)
Before reading further, note that some of the possible implications of avatarism may be surprising, offensive, or downright revolting. This article isn’t meant to be an endorsement of avatarism, but a map to help you better see the terrain ahead. Avatarism will upset large parts of the social order. Some will embrace it, but many will resist it as a threat to their entire worldview. Frankly, I am not sure where I personally land on most of the questions it raises. Like you, my opinions will solidify as these issues become more relevant to my own life and the lives of those I care about.
Avatarism, like all -isms, isn’t a single belief but a constellation of interconnected beliefs that share a few common roots. There will be tacit supporters, moderates, and even extremists in this movement. Here, I will attempt to predict what the various flavors of avatarism and their adherents might look like.
But first, I’ll sketch out the core of what avatarism is, and then describe how it will emerge, catalyze, and come to permeate much of our discourse.
Avatarism is a movement to recognize and protect the fundamental human right of freedom of form. Like freedom of speech, freedom of form is a claim on an endowed right to free expression. And like the right to bear arms, it is a right which will suddenly gain relevancy after specific technological breakthroughs.
Specifically, freedom of form is the right to choose the form in which you are seen by others.
This is a rather strange concept to imagine in general, nevermind one which will one day be seen as important enough to codify as a universal human right. What does it even mean? Despite the temptation to seek out good analogies, most analogies fall short.
Other than rare practices like full body modification or costumes, people typically do not attempt to radically change or replace their physical form. Many go their entire lives without even considering it. And for those who do, they’ll make such changes a small number of times, usually retaining much of their prior form out of necessity (such as when changing their gender presentation.)
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Body modification enthusiasts are rare given the immense personal costs of permanently altering your physical form. Soon, taking on these kinds of forms will be less life-altering than changing clothes. (Credit: HuffPost)
Soon our physical form will become subservient to one or more virtualized ones. Fully controlling how we are seen by others will become more accessible, frequent, common, and culturally accepted, and be less like a radical, life-altering event, and much closer to how we think of changing our clothes today.
What are the consequences of our freedom of form in a world where it’s easy to change it?
Perhaps one day if a person claims they are not a cat, and, against their wishes, you continue to interact with them as a cat, it will be seen as a violation of their rights.
Weird, huh?
If this movement emerges, it won’t materialize out of nothing.
Avatarism will emerge from: