Synthetic Reality, Digital Rights, and the Future of Democratic Participation: How Immersive Technologies and AI Are Reshaping Civic Engagement and Social Rights

The notion of a "crisis of democracy" has been central to academic and public debate over the past two decades. However, contemporary democratic systems are shaped by complex, multidirectional, and often contradictory processes. While we witness the resurgence of antidemocratic movements, xenophobia, and the erosion of social rights, we also observe new forms of civic engagement, increased electoral participation in some contexts, and innovative public policies at the subnational level. This study argues that one of the most significant—yet underexplored—arenas where these contradictory dynamics unfold is the digital realm, particularly the emerging ecosystem of synthetic realities: immersive three-dimensional environments powered by artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the metaverse. Drawing on my recent book Synthetic Reality: How the Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence (Re)write the Human Experience (Marsili, Intra, 2025; English edition 2026), this contribution investigates how AI-driven immersive technologies are reshaping the very foundations of democratic participation, social rights, and civic freedoms.