Rationale & Context

I chose synthetic media for this analysis for reasons that impact both my personal and professional lives. In my personal live, I consume social media through a variety of mobile applications such as Instagram and Facebook, and have seen in “reels” and YouTube “shorts” an increasing number of AI generated videos where I see the use of synthetic media. I would see a well-known video such as an interview that has been manipulated with an audio dubbing or an AI generated image in the background. At least for a moment, it makes me question my own understanding of if I can differentiate between what is a "real" video and what is a "fake" video.

In my professional life, I have been researching a variety of video editing software tools as we look to develop eLearning materials, specifically for microlearning to pilot mobile access in my workplace. In my professional social media on LinkedIn, I have consistently seen an ad for an AI video communications software called Synthesia. It piqued my interest enough to test the platform for the purposes of the introduction to this analysis.

Between these two experiences, I was curious about the emergence of this technology to explore just how impactful it could be.