Synthetic Realness: Definition and Concept Paper

This paper defines Synthetic Realness as a condition in which an optimized representation produces stronger signals of credibility, completeness, or authenticity than the less legible reality it represents. Synthetic Realness emerges when systems of curation, performance, and algorithmic mediation optimize for coherence, fluency, polish, familiarity, and emotional plausibility while reducing contextual grounding. The representation does not need to be fabricated. Its force comes from the mismatch between perceptual credibility and evidentiary contact, allowing polished representations to feel more trustworthy than the irregular realities they depict.Within the Reality Drift framework, Synthetic Realness describes the perceptual expression of drift. As coherence increasingly substitutes for contextual grounding, trust can migrate toward optimized representations even as their connection to underlying reality weakens.