Synthetic Media - History of Evolution

Synthetic media is not a new concept, its history can be traced back to the late 20th century when image editing, movie VFX, and CGI were first developed. The evolution of synthetic media have helped industries like film, gaming, and social media to exponentially grow in early 21st century. In this section, we will explore history and evolution of different synthetic media generation tools and future of synthetic media.

Early Beginnings (1980s1990s)

The first instance of synthetic media was developed in the late 20th century, when digital manipulation tools and software were invented.

• Digital Imaging: In 1988, tools like Adobe Photoshop are introduced for manipulation of images. This is marked as one of the first examples of synthetic media creation.
• Computer Graphics in Movies: Movies such as Tron (1982) and Toy Story (1995) used computer-generated imagery (CGI).

CGI and VFX (1990s2000s)

In the 1990s and 2000s, the film industry experienced massive growth due to advancements in CGI and visual effects. During the same period, Photoshop continued to release new versions for editing static images each year.

• Films with Realistic CGI: Movies like Jurassic Park (1993) and The Matrix (1999) used advanced CGI and VFX to render real-world footage with synthetic elements.
• Motion Capture: The Lord of the Rings trilogy (20012003) made use of motion capture technology, In this digital characters had realistic movements.

Deepfakes and AI Texts (2010s)

With advances in artificial intelligence and deep learning, synthetic media reached new dimension. This was the stage where ethical concerns regarding synthetic media started rising.

• Deepfake Technology: Around 2012, deepfakes, a technology which use AI to swap faces in videos and images was invented.
• Generative Text Models: In the year 2018, AI models like GPT, BERT are invented to generate artificial texts. These models can generate texts just like humans, but with higher accuracy and speed.

Virtual Influencer and AI Multimedia (2020s)

Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Media started to become scary during this period. Artificial Intelligence started to generate hyper realistic images and videos. Using AI text and videos virtual personalities started to appear on social medias.

• Synthetic Audio and Video: AI tools like Dall-E, Googles WaveNet and Open AI's Sora are emerged, which have abilities to create of synthetic voices, images, and even video.
• Virtual Influencer: By using synthetic multimedia, people started creating virtual beings on social media. At this stage it is very difficult to differentiate between virtual beings and humans begins. Instagram model '@naina_avtr' is an example for virtual begin.

Future Outlook

Synthetic media is expected to play a big role in shaping future digital landscapes, from the Metaverse to content creation.

• Metaverse Integration: Synthetic media will be important for the creation of immersive virtual worlds, with AI-generated avatars, environments, and experiences.
• AI-Driven Creativity: As AI evolves, it will become a powerful co-creator in everything from films to art, reducing the need for human intervention in content production.