Synthetic Media and the Crisis of Truth
About this Event
Synthetic Media and the Crisis of Truth
Join the APEX Advocacy team during this in-person event at All Power Books in Los Angeles.
Drawing on groundbreaking reporting from the Pulitzer Center, this interactive presentation and workshop explores how algorithmic feeds, deepfakes, misinformation, and AI-generated media are reshaping how we experience the present, and how we remember the past.
Through media analysis, affective mapping, small-group case studies, and collective discussion, participants will examine how AI-generated content captures attention, alters our sense of time, fragments publics, and influences what gets remembered or forgotten. Led by Christopher Sebastian, we’ll explore case studies focused on AI psychosis, deepfakes, and misinformation before turning toward practices of resistance that help us reclaim our attention and strengthen our connections to one another.
This is a participatory workshop designed to spark curiosity, critical reflection, and collective conversation about how we want to live with, and respond to, AI.
Agenda
🕑: 01:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Doors Open; Refreshments and Seating
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:15 PM
Welcome, Introduction to APEX Advocacy, and Workshop Intro
Host: Yvette Baker, APEX Advocacy Executive Director
🕑: 02:15 PM - 03:00 PM
Session I: Explore different forms of AI-generated media and discuss what draw
Host: Christopher Sebastian
Info: Explore different forms of AI-generated media and discuss what draws us in, what feels compelling, and how these technologies shape our attention.
Break
🕑: 03:10 AM - 03:35 PM
Session II: Mapping Our Experience
Host: Christopher Sebastian
Info: Use affective mapping to track moods, bodily responses, and experiences of time while engaging with AI-generated content.
🕑: 03:35 PM - 04:20 PM
Case Study Break-Out Groups
Host: Christopher Sebastian
Info: In small groups, explore Pulitzer Center reporting through three focus areas:
- AI psychosis
- Deepfakes
- Misinformation
Groups will consider how different publics are assembled, intensified, fragmented, or forgotten online.
Break
🕑: 04:30 PM - 04:55 PM
Session III: Practices of Resistance
Host: Christopher Sebastian
Info: Explore ways to interrupt the attention economy, reclaim our sense of time, and redirect attention toward relationships, community, and collective life.
🕑: 04:55 PM - 05:00 PM
Closing Reflection + Collective Takeaways
Host: Yvette Baker, APEX Advocacy Executive Director
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
