Touching Grass in the Age of AI: Hyperreality and What is at Stake for Leisure?

Building on Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality, we introduce the concept of “AI-mediated Hyperreal Leisure” (AI-HL), a form of leisure that is not only generated but also continuously reshaped by AI systems, until simulations predominantly define the very notion of leisure. AI-HL affects four levels of the socio-ecological model: intrapersonal, interpersonal, contextual, and systemic. At each level, the hyperreal mechanism manifests in forms ranging from the precession of simulacra within personalized game worlds to the dominance of the political economy of signs in platform-managed leisure markets. Given AI-HL’s capacity for adaptation, it is poised to exert a more significant and far-reaching impact than earlier technological innovations. This development raises critical questions about whether such a future will genuinely enrich or fundamentally threaten the meanings and societal functions of leisure.