Nvidia’s DLSS 5 Faces Backlash in YouTube Reviews

What a week it’s been for Nvidia, following the grand unveiling of DLSS 5, the latest version of its deep-learning upscaling technology designed to enhance graphics on lower-end systems. This is a statement that’s likely never been made before. For reasons that baffle many, Nvidia has decided that this new iteration should have the ability to override the artistic direction and unique styles of individual games, rendering everything through a lens of AI-generated “beauty” filters. Gamers are voicing their opinions in various ways, but none are as striking as the avalanche of downvotes on the official announcement’s YouTube video.

While YouTube obscured dislike counts back in 2021 to prevent the downvote button from being weaponized against creators, those numbers are still accessible with a simple browser extension. Thanks to some keen eyes, we can see that the DLSS 5 video currently boasts 17,300 “likes” but a staggering 90,000 “dislikes.” That breaks down to a mere 16 percent approval and a hefty 84 percent disapproval. And that’s before diving into the chaotic comments section.

One particularly popular comment quips, “We went from raytracing to sloptracing.” Another adds, “We have achieved it; everything looks like a YouTube thumbnail now.” A personal favorite states, “This is like hiring someone to lick all the flavor off a potato chip before you get to eat it.”

In response to the backlash, Nvidia has pinned a comment at the top in an effort to steer the conversation.

“Important to note with this technology advance – game developers have full, detailed artistic control over DLSS 5’s effects to ensure they maintain their game’s unique aesthetic. The SDK includes features like intensity, color grading, and the ability to mask areas where the effect shouldn’t be applied. It’s not a filter – DLSS 5 inputs the game’s color and motion vectors for each frame into the model, anchoring the output in the source 3D content.”

Unfortunately, this hasn’t quelled the criticism. One reply humorously notes, “lol NVIDIA had to drop a pinned comment cause this shit getting roasted so bad,” and it has twice the likes of the original comment.

Deep Learning Super Sampling once seemed like a promising application of “AI” technology, allowing games to run at lower resolutions and upscale them to appear as if they were running at higher settings. This was a boon for gamers without top-tier rigs or those on older consoles, enabling better performance at higher graphical settings. Hooray! While it has had its ups and downs over the years, it generally felt like a smart use of programming. But it seems we can’t have nice things, and generative AI isn’t here to enhance our experiences; it’s here to homogenize them in the most uninspired ways possible. Thus, Nvidia’s DLSS 5 reveal focused on how it could transform ordinary-looking characters into airbrushed “ideals,” a move that raises eyebrows for its implications.

This has sparked the amusing “DLSS 5 Off/On” meme, which I’ll always appreciate, but it has also generated significant frustration among gamers and developers alike. Finding a way to express this dissatisfaction so that tech companies take notice is a challenge. Nvidia appears to be in full damage control mode, but it feels more like they’re trying to fix a shattered cup with a bulldozer. “They’re completely wrong,” CEO Jensen Huang stated regarding the outcry, insisting that this technology, which alters an artist’s intent, does not actually replace that intent. “DLSS 5 fuses controllability of the geometry and textures and everything about the game with generative AI…it’s generative control at the geometry level.”

It’s all quite the spectacle. Nvidia rolls out new tech that seems to cater to those who obsessively re-render video game characters they deem unworthy, and the overwhelming response from the community is a resounding, “No thank you.”