Do you think Nvidia’s new feature that puts an AI filter on your favorite games looks like crap? Well, the company’s CEO, Jensen Huang, says you’re “completely wrong.” Tom’s hardware reports.
On Monday, the gaming hardware and AI chip maker announced a new AI-powered software feature called DLSS 5, which immediately drew widespread criticism. A dramatic step up from previous versions of DLSS that focused on upscaling graphics, the latest version used a generative AI model “to infuse the scene with photorealistic lighting and materials anchored to achieve 3D content.”
Gamers showed off a demo video shared by Nvidia, which showed off clips from games like the Resident Evil franchise with a familiar AI sheen. There was an unpleasant element to Facetuning, with characters like Grace Ashcroft from Resident Evil, a blonde woman, who looked as if she were erect, with trendy hollow cheeks and pouty lips.
Many argued that the AI feature undermined artistic intentions and was yet another example of AI sloppiness. Some even called it “slop tracing,” a play on Nvidia’s ray tracing technology.
Huang emphatically disagrees with these characterizations.
“Well, first of all, they’re completely wrong,” Huang said Toms during the publication’s GTC 2026 event.
“The reason for that is that, as I explained very carefully, DLSS 5 combines the controllability of the geometry and textures and everything about the game with generative AI.”
Announcing NVIDIA DLSS 5, an AI-powered breakthrough in visual fidelity for games, coming this fall.
DLSS 5 infuses pixels with photorealistic lighting and materials, bridging the gap between display and reality.
Learn more → https://t.co/yHON3nGyxE pic.twitter.com/UvF9G7tlZs
— NVIDIA GeForce (@NVIDIAGeForce) March 16, 2026
In the initial announcement, Huang called DLSS 5 the “GPT moment for graphics” and emphasized that its use would still “preserve the control artists need for creative expression.” Given the noticeable changes to some characters’ faces and even the scenery, many struggled to deliver on that promise.
But in his response to the backlash, Huang has gone a step further by emphasizing that DLSS 5 “does not change artistic control,” saying that developers can still “fine-tune the generative AI” to suit their style.
“It’s not post-processing, it’s not frame-level post-processing, it’s generative control at the geometry level,” he insisted, in a jargon-filled rant.
And if developers wanted to, the AI feature would allow them to make even more dramatic changes to the aesthetics of their games, such as seeing if they could create a ‘toon shader’ or make a game look like it was ‘made of glass’.
“All of that is under the control – direct control – of the game developer,” Haung said. “This is very different from generative AI; it’s generative AI with content control. That’s why we call it neural rendering.”
In short: it is not generative AI. It’s… generative AI?
We’re not convinced this is an argument that will convince gamers, and calling your customers “wrong” is certainly a choice. Still, it’s just the latest example of Huang’s fervent zeal for AI (after all, it didn’t become the most valuable company in the world just by selling graphics cards to gamers). Late last year, he reportedly fired his managers who had instructed employees to avoid using AI because, according to him, you are “insane” if you don’t use AI for literally every possible task.
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