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What Is The 'DLSS 5 On vs. Off' Meme? The Viral Memes Inspired By Nvidia's Controversial New AI Graphics Tech Explained
A new piece of AI technology from Nvidia that looks to improve video game graphics is going viral, but it's not exactly being showered with praise.
The tech is called "DLSS 5" (Deep Learning Super Sampling), and it uses generative AI to enhance the lighting and graphics in video games. Now, AI skeptics are using memes to point out why they hate it or think it's a bad idea.
So, what exactly is DLSS 5, and what have the responses to the announcement been like? Here's what you need to know about the DLSS meme trend sweeping the web.
What Is 'DLSS 5,' And What's The 'DLSS 5 On vs. Off' Meme?
DLSS 5 is a graphics upscaler from GPU-maker Nvidia that uses generative AI to improve the graphics on video games, with a focus on better lighting and shading. This is the fifth generation of Nvidia's DLSS tech, which stands for "Deep Learning Super Sampling."
It was announced in mid-March 2026, with Nvidia releasing a video that compares Resident Evil Requiem with DLSS 5 vs. without DLSS 5.
As with many AI-based pieces of tech, DLSS 5 was met with mixed reviews online. Many disliked the look of Resident Evil Requiem's protagonists, Grace and Leon, with DLSS 5 on, thinking it just looked like the game but with a bad AI filter.
Social media users were very vocal with their distaste of the product and, just like with the "RTX On vs. Off" memes, they made their voices heard.
How Is 'DLSS 5 On vs. Off' Used In Memes?
The DLSS 5 memes poke fun at the differences between a game using DLSS 5 and not using DLSS 5 by taking an image of something, whether it's a video game, meme or scene, and placing it side-by-side with a bad AI recreation or edit of the same image.
In the memes, the regular image is labelled "DLSS 5 off," and the edited image is labelled "DLSS 5 on." This is meant to highlight how much worse critics think things look with DLSS 5 enabled.
What Are Some More 'DLSS 5 On vs. Off' Memes?
For the full history of the DLSS 5 On vs. Off meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
