 |
YouTube is quietly using AI to edit videos from its creators. Photo: Serenity Strull . |
In a controversial move, YouTube has been quietly using AI to edit users' videos without notification or permission. This covert content enhancement has raised concerns, especially in the context of AI increasingly dominating human life.
The story began when Rick Beato, a popular YouTuber with over 5 million subscribers, noticed something unusual in a recent video. "My hair looks weird," he shared. "When I looked closer, my face looked like I was wearing makeup." The content creator, with nearly 2,000 videos, wondered, "Am I imagining things?"
AI testing
YouTube has been quietly using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality of videos on its platform, particularly YouTube Shorts. The issue only came to light when several well-known YouTubers, including Rick Beato and Rhett Shull, discovered strange AI-generated details in their own content.
Initially, Rick Beato just felt something was off about his appearance in the video. He noticed his hair looked different and his skin was unusually smooth, almost as if he were wearing makeup. He wondered if he was imagining things, until his friend Rhett Shull, another YouTuber, experienced similar issues.
Shull expressed his frustration with these unwanted changes, saying, "If I wanted these sharp effects, I would have done it myself." He worried that the AI-generated appearance could "distort" his image and negatively impact the audience's experience.
 |
Rick Beato has also made many videos on the topic of the impact of AI on the music industry. Photo: Rick Beato/YouTube. |
Complaints about these edits began to surface in June, when users on social media questioned the company's intentions. After months of speculation, YouTube finally issued a statement confirming the changes.
Rene Ritchie, head of editorial and creator relations at YouTube, posted on X that the company is “running an experiment on a select number of YouTube Shorts videos, using traditional machine learning technology to sharpen, reduce noise, and improve video clarity.”
However, according to Samuel Woolley, a misinformation expert at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, this comparison is inaccurate. He emphasizes that users have the right to turn similar features on/off on their phones, while YouTube "manipulates content from top creators without their consent."
Mr. Woolley also suggested that YouTube's use of the term "machine learning" was a way to downplay the level of AI intervention, aiming to alleviate public concerns.
Loss of faith
The YouTube scandal highlights an alarming trend: AI is increasingly interfering with human lives in an invisible way. This subtle shift, according to experts, could erode our perception of the real world .
This phenomenon is not new. Similar concerns arose decades ago with the advent of Photoshop, followed by debates about photo editing of models or the use of beauty filters on social media. However, Woolley argues that AI has taken these trends to a new level, making edits much more common and harder to detect.
"AI is increasingly becoming a means of shaping our lives and our realities," the expert stated.
 |
The incident demonstrates how easily large tech corporations can control and manipulate the content users view daily. Photo: Decrypt. |
Several past scandals have highlighted this trend. In 2023, Samsung was found to be using AI to "fake" moon images on its new devices. More recently, Google Pixel introduced the "Best Take" feature, using AI to combine the best faces from multiple photos into a perfect group photo – creating an unprecedented moment. The Pixel 10 even uses AI-generated zoom to achieve 100x zoom, far exceeding the physical limitations of a camera.
As these features become more widespread, the lines between reality and virtuality are blurring. To address this, some companies have adopted new content authentication methods, such as adding digital watermarks to AI-edited images, helping users identify manipulated content. However, the core issue remains the erosion of trust.
Woolley warned that YouTube's actions demonstrate that AI is becoming a tool shaping life and reality. Furthermore, it sets a precedent for how tech corporations can easily manipulate and secretly alter the content we watch to serve their own purposes.
"What would happen if the public knew that companies were arbitrarily editing content, without even notifying the creators themselves?" the expert asked.
While some, like Rick Beato, aren't too bothered and have expressed that "YouTube has changed my life," concerns remain. These subtle changes could shatter the already fragile trust between creators and audiences.
Source: https://znews.vn/hanh-dong-gay-tranh-cai-cua-youtube-post1579994.html
Comment (0)