INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH CULTURE SOCIETY

Abstract:    Contemporary transnational life is increasingly shaped by technological transgressions into social, political, and cultural boundaries. While digital devices offer new forms of identity and connectivity, they also disfigure social experience and intrude upon personal privacy by manipulating human subjectivity. This paper examines how visual media, both consciously and unconsciously, normalize the panoptic gaze effected through modern technology, with a specific focus on deepfake technology. Using the example of a viral deepfake video featuring Mollywood superstars in a scene from The Godfather (1972), the author illustrates how public fascination with entertainment and aesthetics often overshadows serious ethical concerns. The paper situates these concerns within a post humanist framework, which questions anthropocentrism and the primacy of human values in the face of overwhelming technological change.

Drawing on theories of identity from Stuart Hall and others, the paper argues that identity has become fluid, multilocal, and hybrid, with ‘digital identity’ as its newest formation. Without regulatory measures, deepfakes can worsen the post-truth crisis, erode trust in media and promote factual relativism. The paper also mentions Ethical AI and the R.E.A.L. Framework as potential countermeasures, while questioning their effectiveness. Ultimately, the paper calls for reflection on where humanity is heading when extension into technology threatens the very essence of being human.