Wirebook › Glossary › Upscaling
What is an upscaling?
In one sentence: Making a small picture bigger by smoothing or guessing new pixels; it can't bring back detail that was lost.
A little more
Upscaling makes a small picture bigger. Simple upscaling blends neighbouring pixels so edges look smooth instead of jagged. AI upscaling goes further and paints in detail that looks right for faces, fur or text.
Neither brings back detail that was really lost. Smoothing only spreads the colours that are left, and AI fills the gaps with guesses based on other pictures it has seen, which can look convincing and still be wrong. An upscaled photo is fine for fun, but it is not evidence of what was really there.
It's a bit like… Asking an artist to repaint a smudged photo of a stranger: it will look like a face, but maybe not theirs.