Have you noticed that YouTube videos have a bit of hints about the creepy valley in recent months? You're not alone as chorus of people caught up in YouTube's endless shorts began styling similar qualities between videos that give viewers Heebie Jeebies. It's probably not the intended response YouTube was intended for, but according to an Atlantic report, the effect is intentional and part of a continuous experiment by YouTube, “enhancing” the video.
According to users, what to look for to find “enhanced” videos is the appearance of “punched shadows”, “sharp edges” and “plastic”. According to the BBC, YouTubers have pointed out these strange effects, with clearer wrinkles, unnaturally smooth skin that appear on clothes, and occasionally distorting the edges of a person's face. Some creators have expressed concern that the unnatural look could lead to viewers who think they used AI in their videos.
YouTube tweaks people's videos after content is uploaded, so all of this is visible and it appears to me that changes are made without the author's permission. Also suggests that YouTubers like Rhett Shull are the result of AI upscaling, but YouTube has a different explanation in their attempts to “improve” video quality using AI tools.
“We use traditional machine learning technology for Unblur, DeNoise and run experiments on selected YouTube shorts that improve clarity in the video in progress (as is what modern smartphones do when recording a video),” said Rene Ritchie, YouTube's editor-in-chief and head of creator liaison in a Twitter post. “YouTube is always working on how to deliver the best possible video quality and experience, and we will continue to take author and audience feedback into consideration when iterating and improving these features.”
It is certainly an interesting decision to explicitly identify these techniques as “traditional machine learning techniques” rather than AI. A Google spokesman made the message even clearer in a statement to the Atlantic, saying, “These enhancements are not being made with the generator AI.”
YouTube isn't exactly a distance from the AI generated. The platform has launched a new suite of “generating effects” that it encourages creators to use. Other creators have shown that YouTube uses AI tools to generate “inspiration” and ideas for new videos on the channel. But perhaps that's the viscerally negative reaction people had when YouTube spotted these “enhanced” videos that left AI-centric languages.
If the viewers' eyes are trusted, this experiment seems to have been going on for several months. The BBC tracked examples of impact complaints explained on YouTube as “enhancement” dating back to June this year. Also, some users have a collusional view of the experiment, suggesting that the company is trying to insensitive viewers to the effects of AI-style and more appealing. On the positive side, it suggests that at least people generally reject slops. Ideally, YouTube won't keep dragging the creator's drugs into the AI mud and won't allow their videos. After all, the platform doesn't seem to have short content at all.
