“AI slop videos are starting to fill YouTube feeds and are particularly targeting young users, guided by business and “hustle” YouTubers who see the content as an easy way to stack their hallowed passive income.
… “That’s a lot of eyes racking up watching hours, and most of those viewers don’t have the ability to discern when they are being fed AI-generated nonsense.
That makes them targets for people looking to make a quick buck with low-effort slop, but it also very well could have long-lasting negative impacts on those kids who have increasing trouble telling real from fake and get fed misinformation that goes unchecked.”
acemorris85 on
It starts with the parents. Keep them away from that shit and instead let them watch classic Simpsons seasons 1-10
Randommaggy on
My kids asks if it’s AI if anything is particularly crappy.
Edit: I would love for youtube to make a curated profile option so that I could set my kids up with access to some of excepyionally high quality content that exists on Youtube. Some of the best kid-friendly content is not available on youtube kids.
Phainesthai on
This is just an extension of the whole Elsagate mess from a few years back.
While this is obviously shite, parents really need to step up here.
Bad stuff has *always* existed, in media, in entertainment, and out in the real world. Parents shrugging off their responsibility to watch what their kids are doing doesn’t get a free pass just because “internet.”
In the same way I wouldn’t let my kids wander around a random street, I wouldn’t let them watch random stuff online.
At some point it stops being an algorithm problem and starts being terrible parenting.
lock_robster2022 on
John Oliver has a great segment on AI slop. Basically for relatively low effort you can create an AI slop YouTube/TikTok/whatever channel that nets $10-$100 a day. No real intentionality with the content other than what gets engagement so you get stuff like AI for babies
It’s enough to make a good living in countries like India or the Philippines. So you get hundreds of channels owned by people with little stake in or context for the viewers’ culture churning out content that lands on our screens.
Wolfegarde on
The regulators (think they) know that if they let their constituents kid’s brains rot, they and their families will always be their superiors, thus less challenges to their power.
ShearAhr on
And it will only get worse and it’s such an easy solution. YouTube could simply have an AI section and if users don’t want to engage with it they don’t have to.
podgladacz00 on
We are back to square one huh? We got rid of people creating random videos with cartoon characters singing together with H man and now we have AI slop instead?
Cakeski on
First it was Elsa and Spiderman fetish toy channels, then it was the jonny jonny shit, now it’s AI.
Alkash on
Luckily babies can’t watch YouTube themselves, and have responsible adults supervising them. Right?
SuperRonnie2 on
Parent of a 6yo. My kid is straight up not allowed to watch YouTube. The only exception is if I’m showing him something educational.
wofo on
I finally managed to set up YouTube kids as an explicit white list that I can add videos or channels that I want and they get nothing else and it’s the first time I’ve let my kids on YouTube. The idea that parents are just letting it rip with babies is insane, but the data shows unattended very young children drive most YouTube traffic… they’re literally making millions off this.
vroart on
This may hurt other programs that help engage children. Even cute animals videos, there are adoption centers who need support.
Kingstad on
having seen the stuff very young kids are served I wonder if its physically possible for AI stuff to be worse
Void-kun on
Children’s attention span is already destroyed thanks to YouTube shorts and TikTok.
My girlfriend is a teacher, like it’s really really bad, you can tell the kids who have a lot of screen time Vs the ones who have minimal screen time.
Up2Eleven on
The next generation won’t know how to do a thing for themselves.
SparklingLimeade on
Another step toward the future warned of in sci fi masterpiece >!Wall-E!<
GreenWeenie13 on
Parents letting their babies watch YouTube videos at all are the obvious problem. 6 year olds have Ipads now, childrens brains are fucked.
JorgenAge on
Look, I’m a big “it falls on the parents” guys and speaking as a parent who monitors, all parental controls are a fucking joke.
YouTube kids does nothing to prevent AI trash content or the Eastern European nonsense like Nastaya. Their algorithm’s invariably push my kids into this content without fail.
I have uninstalled YouTube from my TV – which actually just hides it and it shows up again days later. Same thing with pass coding the app. This is an issue I’ve had with 3 different brands of TVs.
Anyone who is a parent knows you just can’t have eyes on them at all times and my kids are still too young to fully understand why YouTube is bad.
It still falls on us as the parents and we intervene a lot, but it’d be nice if companies actually tried to fill in the gaps better.
YouTube really needs to step in on this.
willpowerpt on
Wouldn’t be an issue if parents weren’t just shoving an iPad into an infants face and letting random Youtube creators rise them.
20 Comments
“AI slop videos are starting to fill YouTube feeds and are particularly targeting young users, guided by business and “hustle” YouTubers who see the content as an easy way to stack their hallowed passive income.
… “That’s a lot of eyes racking up watching hours, and most of those viewers don’t have the ability to discern when they are being fed AI-generated nonsense.
That makes them targets for people looking to make a quick buck with low-effort slop, but it also very well could have long-lasting negative impacts on those kids who have increasing trouble telling real from fake and get fed misinformation that goes unchecked.”
It starts with the parents. Keep them away from that shit and instead let them watch classic Simpsons seasons 1-10
My kids asks if it’s AI if anything is particularly crappy.
Edit: I would love for youtube to make a curated profile option so that I could set my kids up with access to some of excepyionally high quality content that exists on Youtube. Some of the best kid-friendly content is not available on youtube kids.
This is just an extension of the whole Elsagate mess from a few years back.
While this is obviously shite, parents really need to step up here.
Bad stuff has *always* existed, in media, in entertainment, and out in the real world. Parents shrugging off their responsibility to watch what their kids are doing doesn’t get a free pass just because “internet.”
In the same way I wouldn’t let my kids wander around a random street, I wouldn’t let them watch random stuff online.
At some point it stops being an algorithm problem and starts being terrible parenting.
John Oliver has a great segment on AI slop. Basically for relatively low effort you can create an AI slop YouTube/TikTok/whatever channel that nets $10-$100 a day. No real intentionality with the content other than what gets engagement so you get stuff like AI for babies
It’s enough to make a good living in countries like India or the Philippines. So you get hundreds of channels owned by people with little stake in or context for the viewers’ culture churning out content that lands on our screens.
The regulators (think they) know that if they let their constituents kid’s brains rot, they and their families will always be their superiors, thus less challenges to their power.
And it will only get worse and it’s such an easy solution. YouTube could simply have an AI section and if users don’t want to engage with it they don’t have to.
We are back to square one huh? We got rid of people creating random videos with cartoon characters singing together with H man and now we have AI slop instead?
First it was Elsa and Spiderman fetish toy channels, then it was the jonny jonny shit, now it’s AI.
Luckily babies can’t watch YouTube themselves, and have responsible adults supervising them. Right?
Parent of a 6yo. My kid is straight up not allowed to watch YouTube. The only exception is if I’m showing him something educational.
I finally managed to set up YouTube kids as an explicit white list that I can add videos or channels that I want and they get nothing else and it’s the first time I’ve let my kids on YouTube. The idea that parents are just letting it rip with babies is insane, but the data shows unattended very young children drive most YouTube traffic… they’re literally making millions off this.
This may hurt other programs that help engage children. Even cute animals videos, there are adoption centers who need support.
having seen the stuff very young kids are served I wonder if its physically possible for AI stuff to be worse
Children’s attention span is already destroyed thanks to YouTube shorts and TikTok.
My girlfriend is a teacher, like it’s really really bad, you can tell the kids who have a lot of screen time Vs the ones who have minimal screen time.
The next generation won’t know how to do a thing for themselves.
Another step toward the future warned of in sci fi masterpiece >!Wall-E!<
Parents letting their babies watch YouTube videos at all are the obvious problem. 6 year olds have Ipads now, childrens brains are fucked.
Look, I’m a big “it falls on the parents” guys and speaking as a parent who monitors, all parental controls are a fucking joke.
YouTube kids does nothing to prevent AI trash content or the Eastern European nonsense like Nastaya. Their algorithm’s invariably push my kids into this content without fail.
I have uninstalled YouTube from my TV – which actually just hides it and it shows up again days later. Same thing with pass coding the app. This is an issue I’ve had with 3 different brands of TVs.
Anyone who is a parent knows you just can’t have eyes on them at all times and my kids are still too young to fully understand why YouTube is bad.
It still falls on us as the parents and we intervene a lot, but it’d be nice if companies actually tried to fill in the gaps better.
YouTube really needs to step in on this.
Wouldn’t be an issue if parents weren’t just shoving an iPad into an infants face and letting random Youtube creators rise them.