The Evolution of AI on YouTube: The Sweet Trap of AI-Generated "Shorts" - Content Hollowing Behind Viewer Dominance

Prologue: The Shock of "Baby Pilot" Reaching 100 Million Views

In early July, a baby in a checkered shirt rides on an airport luggage belt and is sucked into a large aircraft, donning earmuffs in the cockpit before takeoff. This 41-second YouTube Shorts video, featuring impossible CGI in 3D motion, surpassed 130 million views within 10 days of its release. The creator is Ahmet Yiğit, based in Turkey. The video was made with zero live-action footage, a few generative AI models, and synthetic voice from Eleven Labs. Although the video description mentions AI usage, viewers wouldn't know unless they click on a faint 8pt font link.NDTV Profit

1. A New Content Layer Called "Slop"

In English-speaking internet slang, low-quality AI-generated content referred to as "Slop" began flowing into YouTube via TikTok and Pinterest from late 2024. Early jokes about "visually creepy" or "six-fingered" content quickly faded, and now it's even described as "brain-rot." On Reddit, a thread titled "I support AI as a tool, but most of it is 'brainrot slop'" (/r/aiwars) received 1,200 upvotes in a month.Reddit

2. Only Alphabet Benefits

Alphabet reported a net profit of 2.8 trillion yen and a 14% increase in revenue for Q2 2025, announcing plans to increase CAPEX to 8.5 trillion yen annually. Most of the investment will be allocated to AI infrastructure and YouTube server enhancements. Sundar Pichai, CEO, emphasized in the earnings call that "generative AI will accelerate both search and YouTube."ReutersThe Economic Times

Analysts estimate that YouTube's standalone ad revenue could surpass Disney, reaching an annual scale of 5.5 trillion yen, making the "flood of videos" desirable for the company.NDTV Profit

3. Policy Revisions: Restraint or Tailwind?

As of July 1, YouTube lowered the ad revenue share for "low-effort, repetitive content" and introduced a "reuse prohibited" warning. However, they also announced plans to integrate Google's new video generation model, Veo 3, into Shorts. The operation is case-by-case, allowing "human creativity to be added." Advertisers, already seasoned in dealing with hate video issues, view "AI mass production = inventory increase" pragmatically.NDTV Profit

4. The Creator's Dilemma: The Gap Between Views and Revenue

Ahmet Yiğit's "Baby Pilot" garnered nearly 200 million views, yet he received ad revenue equivalent to only about 400,000 yen. This is because 70% of the views came from low CPM regions like India and Brazil. He uses an average of 12 tools to create one Shorts video, spending hours on detail corrections, shattering the illusion that "AI is instant." The expansion of "invisible labor" through generative AI continues, maintaining the traditional model where platforms absorb labor costs.NDTV Profit

5. Voices on Social Media: "It's Like Having Your Brain Cut Out"

• Reddit /r/youtube

  • "90% is brain rot. Attention span is collapsing" (OhioTreeLover467)Reddit

• Reddit /r/NewTubers

  • "Fight with passion rather than against AI. 'Roblox brain rot videos' only create zombies" (Forget the money thread)Reddit

• X (formerly Twitter)

  • Tech commentator Trung Phan quoted the Baby Pilot video, posting "AI videos are taking over YouTube, reaching the world's third rank in just a few days," receiving 52,000 likes.View from the Wing

Fear outweighs wonder, with comments like "I was chilled seeing my child's recommended section filled with AI slop" (/r/mildlyinfuriating).Reddit

6. Children and the "Return of Elsagate"

In March 2024, WIRED warned, "Your child is already watching AI-generated videos." Kids' channels mass-produced using ChatGPT, Eleven Labs, and Adobe Express have garnered millions of subscribers, with quality control effectively left to self-checks. Experts recall the "Elsagate" scandal of 2017, expressing concern that toddlers are being stimulated without distinguishing reality from fiction.WIRED

Furthermore, a Vox feature pointed out that the combination of short vertical videos and AI-generated content stimulates users' reward systems like gambling, rapidly reducing attention spans. It cited research suggesting that this exacerbates anxiety and short-term focus tendencies among young people.Vox

7. The Dissolution of Fiction and Reality

Parmy Olson of NDTV envisions a future where "Storm Trooper vlogs and dreamlike videos of Trump beating up bullies in alleys" go viral, warning that "buzz detached from reality will encroach on daily life." If recommendation algorithms highly rate "eccentricity," calm stories based on human experiences and memories may be buried.NDTV Profit

8. Impact on the Japanese Market

Research shows that in Japan, the concurrent viewership rate of Shorts surpasses TikTok among those in their 20s, and the "overseas template" of mass production using "AI narration + BGM + generated images" is rapidly increasing among domestic creators. Although ad rates are higher than in English-speaking regions, as YouTube's automatic translation improves, there's a high possibility that overseas slop will be localized into Japanese and flow in. Information literacy education and the application scope of the Consumer Affairs Agency and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' guidelines on the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations and advertising optimization will become focal points.

9. What Ensures "Creativity"?

AI generation should not be uniformly dismissed. Rather, the "AI + human" hybrid could become the next foundation for expression. However, under the current incentive design, algorithms rush toward maximizing click-through rates, depriving creators and viewers of "space for thought." The extent to which advertisers, regulatory authorities, and educational institutions can introduce "quality-rewarding" metrics will be the litmus test.

Conclusion: Stop Scrolling and Reconsider

In the slop era of YouTube, the democratization of creativity and the re-exploitation of labor are two sides of the same coin. While AI videos aiming for maximum impact at minimal cost fill feeds, our time, concentration, and judgment are monetized. Viewers can choose not to watch with a single tap, but their hands are drawn to the "next stimulus" created by AI.

—To reclaim the sensibility entrusted to algorithms, first be aware of your viewing history, and cultivate the habit of explaining to children, "This is an AI-created fantasy." Platforms need transparent labeling and correction of revenue distribution. Whether the future of creation is tainted by "slop" or renewed by human imagination—the choice lies beyond the stopped scroll.

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