Marc Isaacs' AI Film 'Synthetic Sincerity' Explores Identity

Filmmaker Marc Isaacs' new documentary hybrid, "Synthetic Sincerity," explores themes of identity and existence through the lens of artificial intelligence training. The film presents a fictional AI research lab, "Synthetic Sincerity," located at the fictional University of Southern England. Isaacs licenses characters from his previous, acclaimed documentaries to this lab, intending for the software to be trained in creating AI human figures for on-screen representation.

The research staff within the "Synthetic Sincerity" lab are portrayed by actors, including Lebanese independent film-maker Lynn El Safah. A notable element of the film involves Isaacs engaging in scripted conversations with a disapproving AI avatar. This avatar's on-screen persona is digitally modelled after Romanian actor Ilinca Manolache, who previously appeared in Radu Jude's film "Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World." The AI avatar's face is a digital recreation of Manolache's likeness.

However, the film does not detail the process by which Manolache was approached or how her face was transformed into the AI figure. "Synthetic Sincerity" is described as a curious, intriguing, and semi-sincere affair that blends fact and fiction. The project, which interrogates the nature of AI and its relationship with human identity, is characterized as a self-aware docudrama hybrid. The narrative aims to delve into the complexities of AI development and its potential impact on authenticity and representation, though it is critiqued for lacking depth and feeling artificial.