Generative AI, Simulacra, and the Transformation of Media Production

Abstract

This article examines the transformative impact of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) on media production within advertising, film, and television, through the theoretical lens of Jean Baudrillard’s concept of simulacra. As GAI technologies increasingly generate synthetic content that mimics or replaces human creativity, traditional notions of authenticity, authorship, and audience perception are destabilized. Drawing on prominent case studies, including Coca-Cola’s AI Christmas campaign, Nike’s "Never Done Evolving" ad, the AI-scripted films Sunspring and The Last Screenwriter, and procedurally generated television content such as Nothing, Forever and Showrunner, the study explores how GAI contributes to the proliferation of hyperreal media simulations. Employing a qualitative and interdisciplinary methodology, the analysis situates these examples within Baudrillard’s framework, revealing how AI-driven content increasingly operates as autonomous simulations detached from any real referent. The article argues that this shift toward hyperreality has profound implications for cultural production and media consumption, challenging the boundaries between the real and the artificial and prompting critical reflection on the ethical, aesthetic, and societal consequences of AI in the creative industries. Keywords: Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), simulacrum, hyperreality, media production, digital culture