While AI-generated visual media forms such as AI art and deepfakes are currently the subject of numerous studies, less attention is being paid to the democratic implications and ethics of placing these technologies in an augmented reality setting. This talk will present a theoretical framework developed to support an empirical study of computational media perception/influence currently under preparation, which aims to unveil potential risks to democratic processes posed by the combination of AI and AR.

This theoretical framework is centered around the undermining of what Hannah Arendt called “common reality”. Arendt’s political philosophy is currently undergoing a resurgence in popularity as a response to the wave of authoritarianism taking hold in otherwise democratic regimes across the globe. Her “common reality” concept describes an intersubjective, pluralist co-construction of reality perception, which she sees as a necessary condition for a functioning democracy. Arendt argues that authoritarians seeking power often begin by disabling “common reality”, shifting democracies into pre-totalitarian modes.

Drawing on previous empirical studies of augmented reality and AI-generated media, the theoretical framework proposes that augmented reality glasses such as those in development at Meta, Apple, and Alphabet/Google can be used as tools to disable “common reality” co-construction. This not only happens through advertising-like microtargeting of AI-generated persuasive visuals but also the promotion of extreme individualization in AR/VR spaces and games, both of which reallocate outsized proportions of political power to AR technology manufacturers and AI-reliant content providers.

Morten Bay teaches across several programs at USC Annenberg and is affiliated with the Center for the Digital Future as a researcher. He also taught and recently helped revise the curriculum for the school’s new mandatory graduate student course in diversity, inclusion, equity, and access.

He is the author of three crossover books on the societal implications of emerging media technologies, one of which won him his native Denmark’s prestigious ‘Future Award’.

Bay earned his PhD from UCLA with a dissertation unveiling human/civil rights and ethics violations in the social media policies of the U.S., China, and Russia. His empirical and theoretical contributions to the fields of computational/digital media studies and technology ethics have been published in top journals across these fields, including “New Media & Society”, “Journal of Information and Communication Ethics in Society”, “First Monday and ACM Transactions on Social Computing”. He has also presented numerous papers at top conferences including ICA, AoIR, and 4S.

Before returning to academia, Bay acted as an advisor on media policy for parties in the Danish and European parliaments and on digital strategies for all three public service broadcasters in Scandinavia. In the U.S., he has acted as an advisor to multiple department divisions in the U.S. Federal government on data ethics and political/strategic social media, including at the HHS and the DoD. He maintains an active part-time career in journalistic writing and is currently working on a book for an academic audience about AI-driven persuasion in immersive media.