In the era of big data, improving the social governance structure through information digital technology has become a crucial mission for contemporary artifi cial intelligence. The metaverse, as a set of AI technology developments, is playing an increasingly important role in the fi eld of technologically empowered public participation. Arnstein’s ladder theory of public participation provides a scientifi cally sound analytical framework for metaverse-empowered public participation in social governance. This paper reshapes the theory into three types: the low-level dominant and marginal model, the mid-level passive and superfi cial model, and the high-level cooperative and collaborative model. The social governance relationship between the public, the government, and data platforms varies drastically under diff erent participation models. Considering certain shortcomings in current metaverse-empowered public participation, it is necessary to strengthen the conceptual guidance, improve the logical chain, construct the normative order, and enhance the ethical constraints of metaverse-empowered public participation. These eff orts will bring metaverse-empowered public participation onto a healthy and sustainable track in the future.