# The Concerning Rise of AI-Generated ‘Slop’ on YouTube and Its Impact on Babies
Creating videos for YouTube is now remarkably easy thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), and the platform’s audience of young children is growing rapidly. This surge in viewership among babies has raised major concerns among parents, medical professionals, and child protection experts, centering on the content of so-called “slop” – videos that appear harmless on the surface. But what exactly is the danger? And what does YouTube say about it?
YouTuber Monique Hinton demonstrates how quickly AI can create videos for small children in a recent tutorial. In the video, she uses ChatGPT to generate “simple, repetitive” children’s song lyrics filled with “playful nonsense words like ‘la la’, ‘na na’ or ‘clap clap’,” then feeds the results into an AI video generator. Within minutes, the tool produces a colorful, animated reel featuring smiling children, animals, and shapes jumping and dancing, surrounded by butterflies, balloons, rainbow swirls, glittering fireworks, flashing lights, floating musical notes, and falling confetti.
Hinton claims this simple technique can generate hundreds of dollars a day, promising viewers a path to “freedom, prosperity and meaning.” She emphasizes the minimal effort required, stating, “You only have to do about five percent of the work, because AI does the rest.”
Hinton’s tutorial highlights two key trends: the increasing ease of AI video creation and the rapid growth of YouTube’s youngest audience. According to new data from the Pew Research Center, YouTube usage among children under two has increased more than any other young age group in the past five years. Over 60% of U.S. parents with a child under two report their child watches YouTube,with over a third watching daily.
A survey this year by Fairplay – an advocacy group focused on tech’s impact on children – found that YouTube and YouTube Kids attract more infants,toddlers,and preschoolers than any other streaming site or learning app. The survey indicates that 70% of infants who engage with screens use these platforms.
YouTube states that YouTube Kids is recommended for viewers ages two to twelve and is not designed or marketed for younger children. However, many infants and toddlers still end up on YouTube, presenting parent company Alphabet with an possibility to cultivate a generation of potential lifelong users before they can even walk or talk.
YouTube’s growing influence on babies is causing alarm among parents, medical professionals, and child protection experts. Experts explain that as children’s brains are 90% developed by age five, their experiences during this period significantly influence their linguistic, social, emotional progress, and critical thinking abilities. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends “very limited” media use for children under two. “As their brains first connect, they develop an understanding of what is true and what is not,” says Rachel Franz, an early childhood educator and program director at Fairplay. “If what’s being wired into their brains is a bunch of ‘AI slop,’ that’s going to affect their understanding of the world.”
Concerns about screen time are not new, but those surrounding “slop” – low-quality, AI-generated content frequently enough created specifically for social media – are. “I’m very afraid that my kids won’t know what’s real and what’s fake because it looks so real to me – and I’m almost 40 years old,” says Stephanie Schneider, who sometimes relies on YouTube for respite at home.
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