As AI-generated content spreads across YouTube, organisations and experts in the US, including the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Black Child Development Institute – are demanding YouTube protect children from “AI slop.”

In a letter written and organised by Fairplay and sent today to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google (which owns YouTube), and Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, the 230-plus organisations and experts say AI slop “harms children’s development by distorting their sense of reality, overwhelming their learning processes, and hijacking their attention.”

According to Fairplay, YouTube is pushing slop onto children, including toddlers and infants, the letter says. It cites reports that 40% of the recommended videos that followed popular preschool shows on YouTube like “Cocomelon” contained AI-generated content. Further, 21% of all new users’ recommended Shorts contained AI slop and false science information from AI videos were being recommended to older kids as “educational.”

“Despite [YouTube’s] promises to keep kids safe, the proliferation of AI slop content demonstrates once again that YouTube prioritises profit over the well-being of its most vulnerable users,” the letter says.

“In fact, multiple content creators brag about earning millions off of plotless, mesmerizing AI content for young children, and the top-watched AI slop channels targeting kids have earned over $4.25 million in revenue annually so far.”

The letter is signed by 135 organisations and 102 experts. The signers include ParentsSOS, the American Counseling Association, Children & Nature Network, Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc., Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA), Design it For Us, The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, National Center for Online Sexual Abuse (NCOSE), Outdoor Play Canada, Mayor Melissa Elliott of Henderson, N.C., paediatrician Dr. Michelle Ponti, Sherry Turkle, Gaia Bernstein, and Dr. Dana Suskind.

The letter is being launched alongside a petition from Fairplay calling on YouTube to “Stop AI Slop for Kids!”

The letter lays out six changes YouTube should make to how it displays and distributes AI content on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Those changes are:

1. Clearly labeling all AI-generated content on YouTube.
2. Barring AI-generated content from YouTube Kids.
3. Prohibiting child-directed videos (“Made for Kids”) on YouTube that are AI-generated.
4. Prohibiting algorithmic recommendations of AI-generated content to users under age 18.
5. Implementing a toggle switch in parental controls so that parents can turn off AI-generated content even if children search for it. This switch should be off by default.
6. Stopping all investment in the creation of AI-generated videos for children.

The letter follows the announcement that Google is investing $1 million in Animaj, an AI studio that creates AI videos for children, including babies and toddlers who – according to Fairplay – should not have any screen time at all.

Recommended reading

• How Do Teachers Feel About AI in Education?
• Is AI In Education Putting Children’s Development At Risk?
• Is the UK Education System Falling Behind on AI?

It also follows last week’s verdict in Los Angeles holding YouTube liable in a landmark social media trial focused on social media addiction and kids.

“If Google wants to continue marketing YouTube and YouTube Kids to children, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that its platforms are safe and developmentally appropriate,” the letter says.

“Given the absence of evidence that AI slop is safe for children and the potential for these videos to mesmerize and harm kids, Google must take swift action to protect children on its platforms.”