'AI slop' takes over YouTube with surreal content boom

In the era of artificial intelligence (AI) YouTube is flooded with surreal AI-generated videos showing the babies trapped in space, zombies as football stars, and cat soap operas.

The data from analytical firm Playboard show that out of the top 100 fastest growing YouTube channels in July, 9 were those which reached pinnacle of success by showing purely AI-generated content.

The AI content boom consists of weird and surreal videos and narratives, including baby crawling into a pre-launch space rocket, opera and concerts featuring humanoid cats, zombies playing football, and the attack of gigantic creatures.

The recent surge in such content is driven by the release of cutting-edge AI models such as Google’s Veo 3 and Elon Musk Grok Imagine.

These videos are called “AI Slop” characterized by the low-quality content which is surreal, grotesque, and unrealistic.

The channels that are known for producing such uncanny content have millions of subscribers. For instance, Super Cat League has 3.9 million followers and 1.6 million for the videos featuring babies stranded in space.

To curtail the surge of content, YouTube has tried to stop this AI deluge by blocking the sharing of advertising revenue with channels that post inauthentic and unrealistic content.

A spokesperson for YouTube said, “All content uploaded to YouTube is subject to our community guidelines–regardless of how it’s generated.”

Dr Akhil Bhardwaj, an associate professor at the University of Bath’s school of management explained, “AI slop is flooding the internet with content that is garbage. This 'enshittification' is ruining online communities and competing for revenue with artists on Spotify and deluging YouTube with poor quality content.”