YouTube Will Use AI to Upscale Low-Res Videos

YouTube's going through a lot of changes right now, and according to the company, that's to help it better stand out on TVs. Today, YouTube announced that it's going to allow creators to upload bigger thumbnails, plus make browsing and shopping while watching on a TV a bit more convenient. But there's also a big change coming to content itself, and it's not just limited to TVs.

Soon, YouTube is going to start using AI to automatically upscale any videos with resolutions lower than 1080p. While you can technically still upload videos that are 720p nowadays, with smartphone cameras getting better and better, that essentially reads to me as "old videos." It's a bit concerning to me, as someone who's been watching a lot of TV shows from the '90s and early 2000s on YouTube as of late.

Credit: YouTube

Done right, AI upscaling is a simple way to de-noise a video, and is more resistant to hallucination than generations made from whole cloth. But it's not without its own hiccups, and some creators have actually accused YouTube of using AI upscaling already, without telling them, and with some undesirable results. The accusations have been limited to YouTube Shorts for now, but notably, even Will Smith seems to have possibly run afoul of the system's hidden AI, as the celebrity was himself accused of generating a crowd with AI in a YouTube Short of a recent concert. However, internet sleuths have determined the footage is likely legit, but was automatically made to look like "AI slop" by YouTube. Note, for instance, how different the footage looks on Instagram.

Luckily, YouTube says that this version of AI upscaling will be fully in the hands of creators and users. According to the feature's announcement "Creators will retain complete control over their library, as both original files and original video resolution will be kept intact, with a clear option to opt-out of these enhancements." Viewers, meanwhile, will be able to see when AI upscaling has been used thanks to a "super resolution" label in the resolution selection settings, and opt for the original resolution instead.

Additionally, YouTube told The Verge that videos that were shot below 1080p, but manually remastered and uploaded in 1080p or above, won't be affected by the upscaling tech. What matters is the resolution the video was uploaded in.

All of that's a relief for folks like me, who don't want bizarre seven-fingered extras in our sitcoms, although it's unclear whether this control will also extend to YouTube Shorts, or if YouTube might continue experimenting with mandatory AI upscaling there behind-the-scenes (which, to be fair, has not yet been confirmed).

Regardless, it makes sense why YouTube is making this change, as it tries to capture more eyes across more devices. Low resolution videos might look fine on a six-inch smartphone display, but blown up to 50+ inches on a TV, not so much.

YouTube hasn't said exactly when the feature will go live, but if you notice what looks like weird AI artifacting the next time you're watching a YouTube video, try checking the resolution settings by mousing over the video and tapping or clicking the cog icon.

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