Synthetic Data
Artificially generated data that mimics real data characteristics. Used when real data is scarce, sensitive, or expensive to obtain for AI training.
In-Depth Explanation
Synthetic data is artificially created to resemble real data statistically. It addresses data scarcity, privacy concerns, and edge case coverage for AI training.
Synthetic data generation methods:
- Statistical: Based on distributions and rules
- Simulation: Physics-based or agent-based models
- Generative AI: GANs, VAEs, diffusion models
- Augmentation: Transforming existing data
- Rule-based: Domain knowledge encoding
Benefits of synthetic data:
- Privacy-preserving (no real personal data)
- Unlimited quantity
- Controlled rare event coverage
- Cheaper than real data collection
- Bias mitigation through balance
Considerations:
- May not capture all real-world complexity
- Validation against real data needed
- Generation quality varies
- Regulatory acceptance varies
Business Context
Synthetic data enables AI when real data is limited by privacy, cost, or rarity. Market growing rapidly as AI adoption increases.
How Clever Ops Uses This
We evaluate synthetic data approaches for Australian businesses facing data constraints, ensuring generated data is fit for purpose.
Example Use Case
"Generating synthetic financial transactions including rare fraud patterns to train a fraud detection model with balanced classes."