Overview

• YouTube’s liaison Rene Ritchie said the platform is testing traditional machine-learning processing on select Shorts to unblur, denoise, and improve clarity, stressing it is not generative AI or upscaling.
• Creators including Rhett Shull and Rick Beato posted side-by-side comparisons showing subtle artifacts such as oversharpened clothing, smoothed skin, and occasional ear warping that make videos look subtly altered.
• Reports and community threads trace examples back to June, indicating the experiment has been running for months before broader coverage brought it to wider attention in late August.
• YouTube has not announced an opt-out or creator controls, and affected creators argue that unnotified edits undermine the authenticity of their work and audience trust.
• Google reiterated to outlets that the enhancements are not done with generative AI, comparing the process to smartphone-style image cleanup while saying creator and viewer feedback will inform next steps.