Blurring the Lines: AI, Authenticity, and Digital Media

Abstract

This project examines the impact of synthetic media, such as AI-generated images, voices, and videos, on perceptions of truth and authenticity among individuals in Ghana. The main focus of the project is a seventeen-minute documentary film that looks at how a journalist, an educator, and content creators understand altered content and how these understandings affect trust in a digital world that is changing quickly. The documentary "Blurring the Lines: AI, Authenticity, and Digital Media" is the study's method and result. Interviews, observational scenes, and reflective narration in the movie show what Ghanaians who come into contact with synthetic media every day go through in real life. It shows how new kinds of digital manipulation are making it harder for people to figure out what is real by messing with the cultural cues and community values that have always helped them do so. The documentary gets its background from the report that the movie is based on. It talks about how synthetic media is becoming more popular around the world and why this is a big deal in Ghana, where people often build trust through social networks, shared experiences, and relationships with other people in their community. The report also talks about the theoretical ideas that guided the project, like being able to read and write media and being real. It also talks about how making documentaries was a way to get people to think about things, ask questions, and get involved. The project's goals were to find out how people understand fake media, to look at the responsibilities of storytellers in a world where digital manipulation is common, and to make a movie that can help people talk about how to be media literate. Most of the work was about Ghanaian adults, everyday media, and qualitative storytelling. It didn't involve gathering a lot of data or doing technical analysis. The steps were planning, filming, editing, and sharing the documentary. The end product is a seventeen-minute movie with things that make people think about its ideas. The project shows that synthetic media is a problem for people as well as for technology. It makes people less likely to believe what they see, how they talk to each other, and how they make sense of the world around them. The project uses movies to show these ideas, which helps people connect with a topic that is both relatable and culturally relevant and is becoming more and more important.