Synthetic data
artificially generated data that mimics real data without containing actual personal information
Synthetic data are artificially generated data not produced by real-world events. Typically created using algorithms, synthetic data can be deployed to validate mathematical models and to train machine learning models.
Data generated by a computer simulation can be seen as synthetic data. This encompasses most applications of physical modeling, such as music synthesizers or flight simulators. The output of such systems approximates the real thing, but is fully algorithmically generated.
Synthetic data is used in a variety of fields as a filter for information that would otherwise compromise the confidentiality of particular aspects of the data. In many sensitive applications, datasets theoretically exist but cannot be released to the general public; synthetic data sidesteps the privacy issues that arise from using real consumer information without permission or compensation.
Usefulness
Synthetic data is generated to meet specific needs or certain conditions that may not be found in the original, real data. One of the hurdles in applying up-to-date machine learning approaches for complex scientific tasks is the scarcity of labeled data, a gap effectively bridged by the use of synthetic data, which closely replicates real experimental data. This can be useful when designing many systems, from simulations based on theoretical value, to database processors, etc.
“Synthetic data” enters the record as artificially generated data that mimics real data without containing actual personal information. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Synthetic, data and artificially can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Synthetic data” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.