[15:41 Mon,6.April 2026 by blip] |
85% of children under 12 are said to use YouTube daily; in nearly three-quarters of families with children under 6, YouTube or YouTube Kids is turned on every day; among teenagers, around 70% use the platform daily. This is an extremely large potential audience whose attention is fiercely contested and which, even before the advent of generative AI, was fed automatically produced and sometimes traumatizing clips. Following a public outcry in the wake of
Almost 10 years later, YouTube is once again facing criticism, as children are now increasingly being exposed to so-called "AI slop"—low-quality video content produced even more cheaply and quickly via AI. While excessive media consumption of any kind is generally unhealthy for children (not least because it leaves less time for social interaction and creative play), AI slop tailored to children adds another serious factor: these are often hypnotic videos largely devoid of plot that keep young children glued to the screen, which generates lucrative revenue for channel operators (and YouTube).  The videos, calculated with the cheapest of means, often exhibit typical AI errors such as morphing limbs and the like. What such images do to children&s still-developing brains is far from being fully researched; however, initial findings provide little reason for reassurance. For instance, children who are exposed to a lot of AI slop could later have more trouble assessing reality, such as finding it harder to distinguish fake footage from real images, as developmental psychologist McCall Booth explained to the NYTimes. She noted that children&s mental schemas have been adapted to incorporate improbable but aesthetically realistic character actions. By having the YouTube algorithm specifically suggest AI slop to children (adults are rarely shown such videos), the company is participating in an "uncontrolled experiment by distributing AI-generated content without its benefits being scientifically proven and without considering the principles of child development, which suggest that this content is likely predominantly harmful," states an open letter to the CEOs of YouTube and Google. In the letter, the non-profit organization Fairplay, along with over 230 other experts and stakeholders in the fields of child development, consumer protection, and online safety, demands that Google/YouTube make "significant changes to the way AI-generated content is displayed and distributed on YouTube and YouTube Kids, including Shorts." Specifically, all AI-generated content on YouTube should be clearly labeled and filterable via parental controls. No AI-generated content should be allowed on YouTube Kids at all, nor should such videos directed at children ("Made for Kids") be permitted on the main YouTube platform. AI-generated content should not be algorithmically recommended to users under 18, and there should be no investment in the creation of AI-generated videos for children. How YouTube will respond to these rather far-reaching demands remains to be seen.  more infos at bei fairplayforkids.orgdeutsche Version dieser Seite: Offener Brief gegen KI-Slop für Kinder auf YouTube |
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