[Ads-l] synthetic media (was Re: Phrase: Jagged Intelligence (description applied to AI systems))

[Ben Zimmer]

The term "synthetic media" has been used by genAI skeptics and critics for
a few years now, e.g.:

---
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2023/04/11/timnit-gebrus-anti-ai-pause-00091450
"Timnit Gebru’s anti-'AI pause'," Politico, Apr. 11, 2023
[Timnit Gebru:] Congress needs to ensure corporations are not using
people’s data without their consent, and hold them responsible for the
synthetic media they produce -- whether it is text or media spewing
disinformation, hate speech or other types of harmful content.
---

Emily Menon Bender has often talked about "synthetic media machines" or
"synthetic text extruding machines" as a way of reframing AI discussions:

---
https://www.techfinitive.com/features/generative-ai-synthetic-text-extruding-machines/
"Generative AI is talking, but is anyone actually listening?,"
Techfinitive, Aug. 30, 2023
“Synthetic media machines are designed to make things up,” says Emily M.
Bender.
---

--bgz


On Fri, Feb 6, 2026 at 4:53 PM Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> I'm going to add a "new to me" one: "synthetic media" for media produced
> by generative AI. I spotted it in an essay re-published on EarthSky.
> Probably not new to the new word watchers.
>
> "For many everyday scenarios – especially low-resolution video calls and
> media shared on social media platforms – their realism is now high
> enough to reliably fool nonexpert viewers. In practical terms, synthetic
> media have become indistinguishable from authentic recordings for
> ordinary people and, in some cases, even for institutions."
>
> By Siwei Lyu <https://theconversation.com/profiles/siwei-lyu-528645>,
> University at Buffalo
> <https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-at-buffalo-925>
>
>
> https://earthsky.org/human-world/deepfakes-flooding-the-internet-rise-in-2026/
>
> This article is republished from The Conversation
> <https://theconversation.com> under a Creative Commons license. Read the
> original article
> <
> https://theconversation.com/deepfakes-leveled-up-in-2025-heres-whats-coming-next-271391
> >.
>
> This is probably a well-established term of art in the field . . .
>
> ---Amy West
>
>

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