Lex Fridman’s latest podcast with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, spanning nearly two-and-a-half hours, discusses everything from memory shortages to mortality, but it’s perhaps the CEO’s view on DLSS 5 backlash that may interest you most. Last week, Huang said some people’s understanding of the technology was “completely wrong” – this time around, he’s softened his response and tackled the ‘AI slop’ or ‘AI filter’ criticism, which dominated initial reaction to the tech.

The podcast arrives not long after Nvidia GTC last week. A lot was happening, but from a PC gamer’s perspective, the biggest reveal was the introduction of DLSS 5. The fifth-gen graphics tech won’t be available to consumers until this Fall, but it has already generated a lot of debate online over its effect on artist intent, uncanny beautification, and other concerns.

Nvidia’s CEO responds to ‘AI slop’ comments with some empathy

“I think their perspective makes sense and I could see where they’re coming from, because I don’t love AI slop myself. You know, all of the AI-generated content increasingly looks similar and they’re all beautiful, and so I’m empathetic towards what they’re thinking. That’s just not what DLSS 5 is trying to do.”

Nvidia CEO & co-founder, Jensen Huang

Huang says he understands why gamers have reacted negatively to the technology, though he is quick to explain how it works behind the scenes. It’s not a post-processing effect – Jensen calls it “3D-conditioned” and “3D-guided,” meaning it is designed to enhance visuals without disrupting artist intent or geometry. “We are completely truthful to the geometry,” he adds, saying, “it enhances, but it doesn’t change anything”.

The overarching theme is that developers can fine-tune how their games interact with DLSS 5. And while the examples provided to us so far at Nvidia GTC focus on a hyper-realism angle, that’s not all it will be good for. He says “the system is open,” and developers will be able to train their own models and even prompt it in the future; “I want it to be a toon shader,” says Huang, giving an example.

“You can give it even an example, and it would generate in the style of that, all consistent with the artistry, the style, the intent of the artist. And so, all of that is done for the artist so they can create something that is more beautiful, but still in the style that they want.

I think that they got the impression that the games are going to come out the way the games are, shipped the way they do, and then we’re going to post-process it. That is not what DLSS is intended to do. DLSS is integrated with the artist, and so it’s about giving the artist the tool of generative AI – they could decide not to use it.”

Nvidia CEO & co-founder, Jensen Huang

The biggest criticism we’ve seen from gamers is discourse over how DLSS 5’s neural rendering alters characters’ faces. The hyperrealistic look and beatification can be associated with the uncanny valley and draw easy comparisons to ‘AI slop’. Grace Ashcroft’s (from Resident Evil Requiem) DLSS 5 transformation is one of the most widely shared, and even Capcom devs reportedly saw it for the first time at Nvidia GTC.

Huang has addressed this issue by saying DLSS 5 doesn’t have to focus on realism.

Speaking about gamers, he says, “they want the generative models to generate the opposite of photoreal – yeah, it’ll do that too, so it’s just yet another tool”. Huang says game developers are looking for “more and more tools to express their art, and so this is just yet one more tool; they can decide what to use”.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.