MrBeast Sounds Alarm: AI's Rise Threatens YouTube Creator Economy

The rise of artificial intelligence is sparking fears across industries, and now, even YouTube's biggest star, MrBeast, is weighing in. He suggests the rapid progress of AI could drastically impact those who make a living creating online content.

AI's Creative Disruption

AI tools are now capable of generating entire videos from simple text prompts. OpenAI's Sora has particularly raised concerns about copyright infringement, given how easily users can replicate copyrighted material.

Creator Concerns

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, questioned the future for creators like himself. He wonders what happens when AI-generated videos become indistinguishable from human-made ones.

Widespread Worries

Fears about AI's impact on jobs are not new, but they're especially strong in creative fields. The film and video game industries have already seen significant action over AI use.

AI's Dual Role

Yet, AI is also being embraced within these same sectors. YouTube, for instance, offers generative AI tools for creators, including Google's Veo for generating videos. AI can also assist with subtitles or brainstorming.

AI as a Creative Aid

Lars Erik Holmquist, a professor at Nottingham Trent University, points out that AI makes content creation significantly cheaper. Those who effectively use AI to enhance their work will likely benefit in the short term.

MrBeast's Unique Position

It's unlikely AI will replace creators like MrBeast. His content revolves around real people doing extreme things for money – something AI can't replicate. Still, his concerns are valid.

Behind-the-Scenes Benefits

AI could prove valuable to creators like MrBeast in areas like production and graphics. He previously experimented with an AI tool to generate thumbnails but faced backlash over copyright issues.

Copyright Concerns

Other YouTubers criticized the training data used for generative AI, arguing it often relies on copyrighted material without compensating creators. MrBeast ultimately removed the AI tools and promoted human designers instead.

YouTube's AI Training

Veo, Google's AI video generator, is trained on a subset of YouTube videos. It's unclear if MrBeast's videos are part of this training data, though.