What is synthetic data?

"We're entering an era in which our enemies can make anyone say anything at any point in time." In this viral video from 2018, actor-writer Jordan Peele projected his voice into former President Obama's moving lips. Peele's PSA on'deepfakes,' audio and video altered with the intent to mislead, was the first time many people heard of synthetic data. It won't be the last. Today, synthetic data are everywhere, driving some of AI's most innovative applications.