Non-human virtual identities have an increasing impact on our society. A virtual identity is not just an online identity of a person, but a new technical and social phenomenon. What if software agents, powered by artificial intelligence, start acting on your behalf in a digital marketplace? What are the legal consequences of decisions made by these autonomous virtual agents?

The possibilities of non-human virtual identities, popularized by digital worlds such as Second Life, are facing growing attention from media outlets, advertising executives, and ordinary computer users alike. Digital Ego counters the common assumption that a virtual identity is only a temporary, innocent manifestation which disappears when a computer is switched off. In this forward-looking volume, Jacob van Kokswijk addresses a broad range of social and legal consequences of virtual identities, including the difference between virtual and real identities and the position of virtual environments in real-world legal systems.

The book ‘Digital Ego’ by Jacob van Kokswijk is available through the University of Chicago Press (sample pages) (book cover)