YouTube made AI enhancements to videos without telling users or asking permission. As AI quietly mediates our world, what happens to our shared connections with real life?

YouTube secretly used artificial intelligence to modify creators’ videos without notification or consent, making subtle changes to their appearance[1]. According to Rick Beato, who runs a YouTube channel with over 5 million subscribers, he noticed strange alterations in his videos - his hair looked different and it appeared he was wearing makeup[1:1].

The AI modifications included sharpening skin in some areas while smoothing it in others, defining wrinkles in clothing more clearly, and causing subtle warping of features like ears[1:2]. YouTuber Rhett Shull, who investigated the changes, said “If I wanted this terrible over-sharpening I would have done it myself… I think that deeply misrepresents me and what I do and my voice on the internet”[1:3].

The unauthorized AI enhancements represent a concerning trend where artificial intelligence increasingly mediates reality before it reaches viewers, potentially eroding authentic connections between creators and their audiences[1:4].

  1. BBC - YouTube secretly used AI to edit people’s videos. The results could bend reality ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  • Random Dent@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    1 day ago

    I stopped using Youtube a few years ago when one of my videos that wasn’t monetized and had a very clearly public domain piece of music in it got flagged by some bot for copyright infringement (on the public domain music) and Youtube monetized my video without my permission and put ads in it so that they could send the money to the bot that falsely flagged my video.