“Are we still the same?”: iconicity, gestures, and ethical questions in the avatar/deepfake appropriation of Elis Reginaf Avatars Produced by Artificial Intelligence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1980-4016.esse.2025.238170Keywords:
Gestures, Iconicity, Peirce, Elis Regina, DeepfakeAbstract
This paper addresses the semiotic implications of AI-generated avatars of deceased cultural figures, specifically examining how deepfake technology functions as a form of intersemiotic translation that raises questions about iconic representation, cultural memory, and pragmatic consequences. This work proposes a semiotic analysis of Elis Regina's gestures, focusing on the singer's recent digital avatar created for an advertising campaign by the automotive company selling new generations of a classic model, the Kombi van. Based on Peirce's triadic semiotics—particularly his concepts of iconicity (CP 2.247-249), operational iconicity (Stjernfelt 2007), collateral experience (CP 8.179), and emotional interpretant (CP 5.475)—we analyze how AI avatars function as dicisigns that make multiple claims about identity and presence. We analyze gestural transformations through human and technological mediation, applying Peirce's concepts of unlimited semiotics, synechism, and habit breaking to the 2023 Volkswagen commercial, which features an AI-generated avatar of Elis Regina acting with her daughter Maria Rita. Our triadic analysis examines: (1) iconic gestural mimicry, (2) generation of interpretants through emotional/energetic/logical modes, and (3) pragmatic-legal-ethical consequences.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Alexander Matthias Gerner, Renata Silva Souza, Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez
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