If it feels like there's a lot of AI slop on YouTube, that's because there's a lot of AI slop on YouTube.
New research from video-editing company Kapwing, reported by the Guardian found that more than one in every five videos that the YouTube Shorts algorithm shows new users is low-quality, AI-generated content.
One of the most interesting parts of the Kapwing study is that of the first 500 YouTube Shorts videos in a brand-new, untouched YouTube Shorts algorithm, 104 were AI-generated and 165 were brainrot — a whopping 21 percent and 33 percent, respectfully.
You May Also Like
Of course, the love of AI slop differs depending on the country. Kapwing found that AI slop channels in Spain have a combined 20.22 million subscribers, more than any other country, but has fewer AI slop channels among its top 100 channels than other countries. The U.S. has nine channels among its top 100 channels, and the third-most slop subscribers at 14.47 million.
YouTube isn't the only social media beast whose content is falling to the depths of AI slop despair, but the Kapwing study makes it clear that AI slop isn't going anywhere. As Mashable's Tim Marcin reported earlier this month, AI slop is taking over our feeds, from fake animals on surveillance tapes to heavy machinery cleaning barnacles off whales.
Topics Artificial Intelligence
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
