Introduction
Today, I want to explore a question that has become more pressing than ever: what is real, and what is fake?
When I was growing up, the concept of something being "fake" was often tied to images edited in Photoshop. If someone altered a photo, we’d say, “That’s Photoshop.” It was a catchphrase—a shorthand for fakery. But back then, the deception was mostly limited to still images, and you could often spot it with a closer look.
Fast forward to today, and everything has changed.
The rise of artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and real-time video generation has completely redefined what can be faked. We're no longer just editing what already exists—we’re generating entire realities from scratch. The term "Photoshopped" doesn’t cut it anymore. Now we have to talk about things being AI-generated, synthetic, or deepfaked.
And the ceiling keeps rising. First it was still images. Then it became audio. Now it’s full-motion video, digital personas, and virtual influencers. Reality itself is under pressure. Are we approaching something close to simulation theory—a version of existence where what’s fake is indistinguishable from what’s real?
This isn’t just a technological shift. It’s a philosophical one.
What Is Real, Really?
This new era of synthetic content forces us to confront one of humanity’s oldest questions: what is reality? Philosophers have wrestled with this for centuries. AI just made the question urgent again.
Plato’s Cave in 4K
In his Allegory of the Cave, Plato imagined people chained inside a cave, seeing only shadows cast on a wall—and mistaking those shadows for reality. Today, we’re scrolling through curated feeds, watching deepfakes, and interacting with AI avatars. Are we, too, mistaking shadows for truth?
Our screens have become the cave walls. And the shadows are more believable than ever. In fact, a new kind of prank is emerging where people use AI to generate fake videos of strangers—before even meeting them. Someone walks up to a person on the street, shows them a realistic AI-generated video of themselves doing something embarrassing, and says, “You’re famous on TikTok!” It’s a joke, sure, but it illustrates just how easy it has become to fake you. People are reacting to a false version of themselves—created in minutes, and convincing enough to cause confusion or distress
Baudrillard’s Hyperreality
French philosopher Jean Baudrillard introduced the idea of hyperreality—where representations become more real than reality itself.
Think of it like this:
AI-generated influencers with perfect skin and scripted personalities. Virtual assistants with emotions. News segments led by avatars. Relationships with chatbots trained to love you. And now, companies like Meta have taken this even further by launching AI-generated personas—virtual influencers with names, personalities, and entire digital lives. They give interviews. They post selfies. They engage with followers. But they’re not real. And yet, millions follow them.
It’s no surprise this leads some to consider the Dead Internet Theory—the unsettling idea that much of what we now see online is no longer created by humans, but by bots, algorithms, and synthetic identities. If much of the internet is now artificial, who—or what—are we even talking to?
The simulation isn’t just real—it’s more attractive than the real. When fake feels better, do we start preferring illusion over truth?
Final Thoughts
Reality used to be simple. You saw something, you believed it. But now, the burden of proof has shifted. In an age where anything can be faked with terrifying realism, truth becomes a moving target.
But here’s the hopeful part: while our perception can be fooled, our curiosity can’t. As long as we keep asking questions—real questions, uncomfortable questions—we haven’t lost the plot yet.
So yeah, maybe the line between real and fake is getting blurry.
But maybe that just means it’s time to start looking a little closer.