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Artifacts are the little black flecks that appear in the view of night vision devices. They are spread all throughout the view and can vary in density. They are a natural part of the night vision technology, however the higher the quality of device, the fewer there will be. This is not necessarily down to better manufacturing, but instead selection of the night vision intensifier tubes (the core of traditional night vision devices) after they are produced. The best quality ones are labelled Gen 3 (there are sub-grades within Gen 3), the mid-quality ones are labelled Gen 2, and finally the ones with the most artifacts are labelled Gen 1.
It's a very small flake or spec of dirt from the manufacturing process. The higher the quality of device the fewer the specs in other wards the more expensive it is. At least that is my understanding. Hope that helps