It could degrade the model in a way that avoids the metrics they use for gauging quality. The distortions that showed up in ESRGAN (for instance) didnt seem to

It could degrade the model in a way that avoids the metrics they use for gauging quality. The distortions that showed up in ESRGAN (for instance) didnt seem to effect the SSIM or anything (and in fact it was training with MS SSIM loss), but the "noise splotches" and "swirlies" as I call them were noticable in some of the output, but you have to go back and look really hard at the initial dataset to spot what it was picking up. Sometimes, even after cleaning, it felt like what it was picking up on was completely invisible. TLDR Google may not even notice the inbreeding until its already a large issue, and they may be reluctant to scrap so much work on the model.