Collection
Synthetic Media and Synthetic Reality: From Deepfakes to Virtual Worlds
- Submission status
- Closed
The term ‘synthetic media’ can be used to describe a broad range of content generated, in whole or in part, by employing machine learning or other means of automatic content generation. Such content is currently taken to encompass primarily video, audio, image, and text, but it also extends to digital objects of various descriptions (e.g. virtual influencers), augmented reality (games, product try-on tools etc.), and fully immersive virtual environments. This shift will certainly bring numerous benefits, particularly in terms of fostering creativity and democratising content editing and generation by automating the process. Synthetic media will also enable new ways of storytelling that will span the physical and the virtual environments, potentially erasing boundaries between the two.
However, the same attributes of automation and democratisation will also make synthetic media potential security threats, enabling manipulation and deception on a large scale, which is a matter of great concern in a world already permeated by fake news and post-truth (the debate about the manipulative potential of deepfakes is a case in point). No less importantly, the emergence of synthetic media raises the necessity to rethink intellectual property rights, the right to one’s likeness and voice and other ways in which such content can be monetised and misuse of one’s person or the fruit of one’s labour prevented. These and other questions create a fertile ground for academic debate on the present and future impact of synthetic media.
With the above developments in mind, this thematic collection aims to analyse the impact of synthetic media on personal, public, and political communication processes, shifts in creative practices, and disruptions in reality perception and sense-making. The collection also invites considerations of regulatory frameworks applicable to synthetic media.
The collection is open to all disciplines from across the social sciences, and qualitative, quantitative, or purely theoretical contributions are equally welcome. Potential questions to be asked include, but are by no means limited to, the following:
- What are the potential uses of synthetic media and how do they compare with other types of media? - How do synthetic media transform self-expression, marketing, political communication, or journalism? - How do synthetic media affect personal and group identities? - What are the social and political threats of synthetic media? - What are the appropriate tools and frameworks for regulating synthetic media? - What new monetisation practices are enabled by synthetic media and how does that impact on content creators and consumers? - What are the likely future directions of synthetic media’s development?
Editors
-
Professor Ignas Kalpokas
Associate Professor, Department of Public Communication, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
Articles (11 in this collection)
-
-
Interior design students’ perception of virtual reality
Authors
- Diane Guevara
- Deborah de Laski-Smith
- Suleiman Ashur
- Content type: Original Paper
- Published: 03 August 2022
- Article: 152
-
Artificial intelligence in K-12 education
Authors
- Helen Crompton
- Diane Burke
- Content type: Original Paper
- Published: 14 July 2022
- Article: 113
-
Teachers’ views on disinformation and media literacy supported by a tool designed for professional fact-checkers: perspectives from France, Romania, Spain and Sweden
Authors (first, second and last of 4)
- Thomas Nygren
- Divina Frau-Meigs
- Sonia Santoveña-Casal
- Content type: Original Paper
- Open Access
- Published: 09 April 2022
- Article: 40
-
Narratives, emotions and artificial intelligence: a reading of artificial intelligence from emotions
Authors
- Adrian Scribano
- Mairano Victoria Maria
- Content type: Commentary
- Published: 01 September 2021
- Article: 229
-
Granting legal personhood to artificial intelligence systems and traditional veil-piercing concepts to impose liability
Authors
- Ben Chester Cheong
- Content type: Original Paper
- Published: 01 September 2021
- Article: 231
-
Fake reviews on online platforms: perspectives from the US, UK and EU legislations
Authors
- Juan María Martínez Otero
- Content type: Review Paper
- Published: 21 July 2021
- Article: 181
-
Algorithms, human decision-making and predictive policing
Authors
- Peter J. Phillips
- Gabriela Pohl
- Content type: Original Paper
- Published: 26 April 2021
- Article: 109
-
The Momo Challenge: measuring the extent to which YouTube portrays harmful and helpful depictions of a suicide game
Authors
- Lara Kobilke
- Antonia Markiewitz
- Content type: Original Paper
- Open Access
- Published: 15 February 2021
- Article: 86
-
In support of “no-fault” civil liability rules for artificial intelligence
Authors
- Emiliano Marchisio
- Content type: Review Paper
- Published: 11 January 2021
- Article: 54
-
Problematising reality: the promises and perils of synthetic media
Authors
- Ignas Kalpokas
- Content type: Commentary
- Published: 09 November 2020
- Article: 1