AI Upscaling Is a Disaster
- Alc, The Cracker
- Aug 29
- 2 min read
We’ve talked remasters, we’ve talked realism, we’ve talked RTX, and we’ve talked DERP. Next on the list of things the modern man will concoct instead of just enjoying a damn classic: AI upscaling.
What is AI upscaling? It’s in the name: using AI to assume the details in a video or image. The keyword here is assuming.
It sounds promising in theory, and in practice… sometimes it works… especially if you’re working with large enough images.
Other times? Not so much.
Here’s the thing: AI upscalers also have to upscale the worst details. What happens when you’re upscaling concert footage and you have all those blurry, pixelated faces in the background? Well, our brains are smart enough to fill in the blank. AI isn’t so smart, and consequently, those indecipherable faces become even more… indecipherable. This oftentimes leads to instances where you’re watching a band play their songs to a bunch of discombobulated wax people.
Even worse is when they use frame interpolation. If a concert is filmed in 30 FPS, you can use AI to assume those frames in between to get a tasty 60 FPS.
But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Again, this technology isn’t so smart yet. Oftentimes it leads to visual artifacts that make you feel like you’re tripping on something that isn’t just caused by the music. Especially transparent when it comes to sudden cut transition.
Mix both of these things together and you get total desecration of the original content, such as this: (skip to 2:05 for something beautiful)
People are quick to jump on such a technology because it seems so magical. Hell, that’s been the gist of the AI craze in general lately.
Humans really want the future to be here… but it isn’t here yet, and the only thing you’re upscaling is the unnecessary destruction of history. Sadly, people allow it. People salivate over it.
They’ve allowed the aesthetic of old games to be decimated by fancy unnecessary lighting and reflections thanks to remasters. We’re all heading into AI upscaled wax world and… once again… as the saying goes… everything will be chrome in the future.
