YouTube is actively recommending videos generated by artificial intelligence to children, according to a new study. The New York Times reports that channels that publish such content label it as “educational” and specifically target young viewers.
The NYT reviewed more than 1,000 short videos recommended for young children. According to the study, YouTube often promotes bizarre and gibberish videos from channels that claim to teach toddlers and preschoolers the alphabet and animals.
Such videos often show animals or people with strange, distorted facial features or extra limbs. The videos usually look disorganized and contain a lot of misinformation. Due to technical limitations of artificial intelligence, such videos are typically less than 30 seconds long.
The same issue exists on YouTube Kids, another platform for kids that gives parents more control over content. Despite the additional measures in place, AI-generated videos are just as easy to find as the full version of the platform.
The NYT reached out to YouTube for comment and showed the company that five different channels are actively publishing AI content aimed at children. These channels have since been removed from the YouTube Partner Program monetization program. Additionally, the company removed several videos that were generated in violation of the platform’s rules.
”We ask creators to disclose when they use AI to create realistic content, that is, content that viewers could easily mistake for real people, places, or events.,” YouTube spokesperson Booth Bullwinkle said in an email to the NYT.
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