AI slop is increasingly polluting video networks, and it's concerning experts.
What's happening?
A report from video editing service Kapwing estimated that multiple YouTube channels churning out nonsensical AI-generated "slop" videos have earned millions of dollars in revenue.
According to The Guardian, Kapwing noted that roughly 21% of the content shown to new YouTube users is from this stream of AI slop.
Cumulatively, the top AI video channels are earning roughly $117 million annually.
The creators of these videos have a vast ecosystem spread worldwide, with all attempting to capture eyeballs with the most outlandish scenarios.
"They have what they call niches," said journalist Max Read, per The Guardian. "One that I noticed recently is AI videos of people's pressure cookers exploding on the stove."
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The study also showed that South Korea led in total AI slop views, at 8.45 billion, followed by Pakistan at 5.34 billion, and the United States at 3.39 billion.
Why is AI slop concerning?
AI stands to erode trust in online media and devalue factual content. Slop can generally decrease media literacy as AI generates content that is less distinguishable from reality, or so far removed from it that it disconnects viewers from useful information.
Tragically, the costs of AI video don't end there. The processing power needed to keep AI video generators running usually entails massive electricity demands.
The grid sources of this energy are often polluting ones like gas or coal, creating an outsized environmental cost to every piece of AI content.
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What's being done about AI slop?
Tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft are investing in nuclear power, so at least generating AI slop videos won't have as serious an environmental footprint. More efficient models may help curb that energy usage as well.
Meanwhile, YouTube said that it is committed to hosting high-quality content and had already banned one of the slop channels highlighted in Kapwing's study.
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