AI and the Metaverse in China and the West: Cultural Narratives, Governance, and Digital Business Ecosystems

Purpose – This study explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse are culturally represented, governed, and commercially embedded within Chinese and Western digital business ecosystems. It addresses the limited comparative understanding of how similar technologies acquire different meanings across institutional and cultural contexts.

Methodology – A qualitative comparative and interpretive approach was employed, combining critical discourse analysis with cultural and institutional inquiry. The study examined 100 media texts published between January 2020 and February 2026, comprising 50 Chinese and 50 Western texts. The analysis was supplemented by policy documents, institutional reports, and survey data. The texts were manually coded for recurring rhetorical patterns, affective expressions, moral framing, and representations of governance, creativity, trust, and technological progress.

Findings – Chinese media predominantly frame AI and the metaverse through harmony, collective responsibility, state guidance, and national development. Western narratives emphasize corporate competition, individual autonomy, disruption, ethical contestation, and public ambivalence. Although both regions recognize these technologies as drivers of creativity and innovation, China constructs legitimacy through institutional coherence and collective trust, whereas Western societies rely on pluralistic negotiation, regulation, and public criticism. Technological convergence therefore produces distinct moral and affective imaginaries rather than cultural uniformity.

Value – This study integrates media discourse, governance, affect, and digital business ecosystem analysis. It shows that AI and the metaverse function not only as technical and commercial infrastructures but also as symbolic and moral environments that shape trust, creativity, authority, and legitimacy.