The Unreal #TechVision We are entering a world with synthetic realness, And synthetic content will enable customers and where AI-generated data convincingly reflects the employees alike to have more seamless experiences physical world. In this world of synthetic data, images, with AI, not only saving valuable time and energy and chatbots, as well as augmented and virtual realities, but also enabling novel interactions. 96% we are forced to face the questions of what’s real, what’s not, and perhaps more importantly, when do That said, using these technologies pushes enterprises of global executives agree that we care? When we see the news, we want to know into controversial terrain. It raises tough questions their organizations are committed if the video of the president is real – but when we about how to leverage generative AI in an authentic to authenticating the origin of their watch the latest Doritos commercial, maybe it doesn’t way for a company’s customers, its partners, and its data and genuine use of AI. really matter. And sometimes, we may actually prefer entire brand – all within the context of bad actors using the unreal, like when we speak to a synthetic nurse these same technologies to create deepfakes and about a skin rash or train an AI model with synthetic disinformation that undermine trust. And it brings up data adjusted to counter historical discrimination. moral issues too, such as whether or not people should As synthetic realness progresses, conversations about remain emotionally attached to realistic avatars of the AI that align good and bad with real and fake will shift deceased. The answers to these sorts of questions will to focus instead on authenticity. Instead of asking be key to the reputation of businesses at worst and their “Is this real?” we’ll begin to evaluate “Is this authentic?” strategic advantage at best – and authenticity can, and based on four primary tenets: Provenance (what is its should, be the guide. It’s time to ready the business – history?), Policy (what are its restrictions?), People (who because the unreal world is about to become a part is responsible?), and Purpose (what is it trying to do?). of reality. Deployed authentically, synthetic realness can push AI to new heights. By solving for issues of data bias and data privacy, it can bring next-level improvements to AI models in terms of both fairness and innovation. Introduction // WebMe // Programmable World // The Unreal // Computing the Impossible 59