The world’s biggest YouTuber, MrBeast, has expressed concern about the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, warning that they could threaten the livelihoods of millions of content creators.
In a post on social media, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, questioned what would happen to creators “when AI videos are just as good as normal videos.”
His comments come amid growing debate over the impact of AI-generated content on the creative industry. Tools like OpenAI’s newly released Sora can produce realistic videos from simple text prompts, raising concerns about copyright infringement and the future of human-made media.
Experts say while AI may make creativity “cheaper,” it also risks reshaping how audiences value authenticity. Lars Erik Holmquist, a professor at Nottingham Trent University, noted that creators who embrace AI to improve quality may benefit in the short term, but many could struggle to compete with automated content.
MrBeast’s concerns carry weight given his influence and success online. Although his videos rely heavily on real-world challenges and stunts, making full AI replacement unlikely. He has faced backlash before for experimenting with AI tools. Earlier this year, he pulled down an AI-generated thumbnail tool after criticism from fellow creators over copyright and ethics issues.
YouTube’s parent company, Google, has already begun integrating AI into its ecosystem through Veo, a new video generator trained on parts of YouTube’s content library. However, it remains unclear whether MrBeast’s videos were part of that dataset.
