Additional Coverage:
- ‘Scary times’: YouTube’s biggest star, MrBeast, fears AI could impact ‘millions of creators’ after Sora launch (fortune.com)
YouTube Star MrBeast Sounds Alarm on AI’s Future in Creator Economy
YouTube megastar Jimmy Donaldson, better known to millions as MrBeast, is expressing significant concern over the future of the creator economy, warning of “scary times” as artificial intelligence video tools make it increasingly difficult to discern what is real. Donaldson, whose channel is the largest on the platform, believes the rapid advancement of AI-generated content poses a serious threat to the livelihoods of content creators worldwide.
“When AI videos are just as good as normal videos, I wonder what that will do to YouTube and how it will impact the millions of creators currently making content for a living…scary times,” Donaldson stated in a recent social media post. His comments come on the heels of new AI video platforms, such as OpenAI’s Sora and Meta’s Vibes, which are capable of generating highly realistic short-form videos, including those featuring individuals who “upload” themselves into the applications.
Despite his apprehensions, Donaldson has also engaged with the evolving technology. Last July, he launched a tool designed to provide AI-generated YouTube thumbnail images, though he removed the feature approximately a week later following criticism from other creators.
At the time, he committed to replacing the tool with links to human artists accepting commissions, stating in a video, “I care more than any of you could ever imagine about the YouTube community. It deeply makes me sad when I do something that people in the community are upset by.”
In a different application, Beast Philanthropy, MrBeast’s nonprofit arm, announced a partnership in February with Light AI to deploy an AI-powered tool for diagnosing bacterial infections, with plans to send 10,000 of these tests to patients in Africa.
Donaldson’s worries are shared by many within the online content creation community. A 2024 survey of Instagram influencers found that while over 80% utilize AI tools for their content, including generating images and videos, a third expressed concerns about the quality of AI-generated content.
Furthermore, 45% believed the technology would make it harder for human creators to stand out. The financial implications of AI-driven content are also beginning to emerge, as evidenced by a Snapchat user whose AI ‘girlfriend’ bot reportedly generated over $70,000 in a single week during beta testing from users paying to converse with the virtual entity.
However, not everyone in the industry views the rise of AI with alarm. Amjad Hanif, YouTube’s head of creator payments and products, has suggested that the technology could ultimately help level the playing field among creators. Hanif noted that high-quality visual effects and imagery, which historically required a large team and significant resources typically available only to top creators like Donaldson, could become accessible to a much broader group thanks to AI, thus democratizing content creation.