Video creators are increasingly turning to AI tools to rapidly produce low-quality videos targeting children on YouTube, raising concerns about the impact of such content on kids.that the world of children’s entertainment on YouTube is facing a new challenge: a growing influx of AI-generated videos aimed at the youngest viewers.
Ben Colman, CEO of deepfake detection startup Reality Defender, analyzed several of these channels and found evidence of AI-generated scripts, synthetic voices, or a combination of both. “Generative text-to-speech is increasingly more commonplace in YouTube videos now — even for children, apparently,” Colman said.
Experts warn that this wave of hastily assembled, AI-driven content could have detrimental effects on young viewers. David Bickham, research director at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Digital Wellness Lab, expressed skepticism about the educational value of such videos, stating, “Something that’s generated entirely to capture eyeballs — you wouldn’t expect it to have any educational or positive beneficial impact.