Embodiment, Relationships, and Sexuality: An Ethical Analysis of Extended Reality Technologies

Communication technologies change the way we relate to each other and ourselves. In this essay we analyze the effects that extended reality (XR) technologies are likely to have on conceptions of the self, romantic relationships, and other associated concepts like sexual orientation. While these technologies are in their infancy, key psychological and philosophical concepts are already being explored. We begin by defining extended reality and the family of technologies that make it possible. We pay special attention to the way these immersive technologies ground the experiences of presence which can become virtually real. These experiences provide a useful framework for understanding the phenomena of XR embodiment. XR embodiment, the experience of one’s self as embodied in XR, opens up the possibility of blended physical and digital narrative selves which form the basis of new forms of relationships. In a future where XR is incorporated into the basic social and political structures of society, XR embodiment and virtually real experiences challenge normative concepts like sex and sexual orientation. Contemporary conceptions of the self, sex, consent, and love emerged in purely physical contexts to help us navigate the limitations of physical embodiment. XR embodiment requires a new ethical framework to make room for these possibilities. We end the paper by assessing ethical risks XR embodiment can introduce for XR developers, and researchers.