YouTube secretly used AI to edit people’s videos
YouTube secretly applied AI “enhancements” to some Shorts videos without notifying creators, making subtle changes like smoothing skin or warping small details. While the company frames this as a limited test similar to smartphone video processing, the core issue is the lack of consent and the erosion of creators’ control over their own content.
More broadly, photos and videos increasingly reach us already filtered through AI. Examples like Samsung’s AI-enhanced Moon photos or Google Pixel’s “Best Take” and 100x zoom features blur the line between reality and representation. Without transparency and clear opt-in choices, such interventions risk undermining trust in online media.