YouTube is implementing a new feature that is poised to become one of the greatest additions to the platform throughout its entire lifetime. The video hosting giant is getting a new AI-powered upscaling tool that will be able to sharpen up any video on the site, including older ones that were originally uploaded at a very low resolution.

How will it work?

If you’ve kept up with modern AI advancements, you’re probably well aware of the fact that AI can be used to improve the quality of an image. Models specifically designed for this purpose are able to enhance details in low-resolution images using pattern recognition algorithms trained on unbelievable amounts of data.YouTube will use the same principle, but for videos.

How YouTube videos will be affected

All videos across the platform can now be upscaled to look sharper and more detailed, a change that will be most prominently visible on large TVs. The new upscaling feature is being called “Super Resolution”, and creators will have the option to opt out. Users will be able to see if a video is running on an upscaled resolution, and will have the option to view the video how it was originally uploaded.

Currently, the feature is being rolled out for videos uploaded with less than 1080p resolution, though YouTube wants to support 4K in the near future, affecting pretty much every video on the site. Even HD videos, which already look decent on large TVs, will soon be able to be upscaled to look even better.

Amazing idea, but how’s the execution?

To me, this sounds like a fantastic idea, and it is definitely one of the best use cases for AI that we’ve seen in years. Being able to watch old YouTube videos in HD is going to be a game changer, and will also set the platform even further apart from the competition.

However, the one thing I think we’d need to watch out for is the AI “hallucinating” while upscaling. AI upscaling isn’t perfect yet, a phenomenon that can be observed in iPhone photography.

Captured images, after being upscaled by AI, can sometimes add gibberish to the original photo. This is most apparent when you take a photo of text from afar, as the AI often changes words and sentences into weird squiggles.

If Google can perfectly eliminate this one problem, YouTube’s AI upscaling will be one of the best additions to the platform in its entire lifetime, in my opinion.

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