Is there a misnomer in synthetic ATF and brake fluids (Vice synthetic motor oil)?

[Carrameow]

Is there a misnomer in synthetic ATF and brake fluids (Vice synthetic motor oil)? Is everyone hopping on the Synthetic bandwagon after Mobil One pulled off a big Coup by being made the designated motor oil for the 2000 Corvettes and a number of other expensive sports cars?

Synthetic motor oil makes sense when molecules can be custom tailored to resist huge frictional loads and shear stresses and heat in an engine. Furthermore filtration absorbs a huge degree of dirt and grit and material degradation of seals, gaskets, and piston rings, etc.

But in Automatic Transmissions fluids wear a lot more not to frictional or shear stress; instead their loading is more Hydraulic and caused by rapidly varying heat loading. Here does Synthetic stiil mean the same? As the fluids age during decomposition, they become more acidic and damage orings and seals and other parts.

My feeling is somepeople may be putting synthetic ATF and brake fluid in there thinking its service life or interval may be doubled. I would still be nervous of trusting my ATF after 15K miles...

Is this true? I'm not a chemist.