YouTube has confirmed it is using AI to enhance Shorts videos without informing creators, raising concerns about authenticity and trust in online media.
YouTube has admitted to using artificial intelligence to enhance videos without notifying or seeking consent from creators, sparking concern among users who say the changes distort their work.
Music YouTuber Rick Beato, who has over five million subscribers, noticed his face looked subtly altered. “I was like ‘man, my hair looks strange,’” he said.
Similarly, fellow creator Rhett Shull found strange artefacts in his videos. “If I wanted this terrible over-sharpening I would have done it myself. But the bigger thing is it looks AI-generated. I think that deeply misrepresents me and what I do,” Shull said.
YouTube confirmed it has been experimenting with “machine learning technology” to improve clarity in Shorts videos, comparing it to smartphone enhancements. However, experts warn the practice risks eroding trust.
Samuel Woolley, a disinformation researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, argued, “What we have here is a company manipulating content … without the consent of the people who produce the videos.”
Critics say the move reflects a wider trend of AI altering media in ways viewers barely notice. As Jill Walker Rettberg of the University of Bergen noted, “With algorithms and AI, what does this do to our relationship with reality?”