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shirin anlen

shirin anlen is an award-winning creative technologist, artist, and researcher. She is a media technologist for WITNESS, which helps people use video and technology to defend human rights. WITNESS’s “Prepare, Don’t Panic” Initiative has focused on global, equitable preparation for deepfakes.

Articles

A CGI-rendered Kool-Aid-looking juice jug stands on a stage at a convention with men with lanyards looking in the audience
The Synthesis: Valerie Veatch Connects AI and Eugenics in ‘Ghost in the Machine’
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A monitor shows a film project being cut using editing software
The Synthesis: Can AI—or documentary—get us closer to human authenticity?
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Bright purple backdrop featuring a digital image of a lightbulb where a genAI image of Pikachu is surrounded by cops
The Synthesis: How Sora 2 Mainstreams the Collapse Between Irony and Information
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Overhead shot of a shopping center with logos and slogans.
The Synthesis: Raoul Peck on Using AI to Critique Authoritarianism in ‘Orwell: 2+2=5’
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A figure sits on a concrete slab in an arid landscape.
The Synthesis: ‘Deepfaking Sam Altman’ Director Adam Bhala Lough Says Documentarians Should Get Good Lawyers
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An AI-generated image of a blue flag.
The Synthesis: We Must Protect Human Creativity from Being Flattened by AI
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An AI-generated video of a factory floor with glass walls and a man in a black suit holding a floating red ribbon.
The Synthesis: Here’s What Happened When We Prompted Sora With Taglines From Oscar-Winning Documentaries
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An illustration of the see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil monkeys against a yellow background.
The Synthesis: All Bets Are Off for AI and Documentary—It’s Time for a Reset
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A woman leans back against a chair.
The Synthesis: Piotr Winiewicz on the “Surprisingly Ordinary Dreams” Generated by AI in His IDFA Opening Film
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A Venn diagram with 'AI+Documentary' in the middle.
The Synthesis: AI Is Everywhere, Even in Your Documentary
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