As reported by Tech in Asia, a coalition of over 200 child development experts and associated organizations has collectively penned a letter to Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, and YouTube's CEO, Neal Mohan. In this letter, they implore YouTube and its dedicated children's platform to promptly halt the recommendation of AI-generated videos to underage viewers. The experts highlight that AI-generated content frequently showcases characters with unrealistic body proportions, repetitive settings, and robotic vocal tones. Such elements can easily distract children, impede their cognitive development, and skew their perception of reality.

Research indicates that after just 30 minutes of viewing such content, the attention span of children aged 3-5 diminishes by 23%. Furthermore, it may even rewire the neural pathways associated with rewards. Complicating matters further, YouTube's algorithmic recommendation system intensifies the problem. Roughly 34% of content tagged as 'suitable for children' incorporates AI-generated characteristics. Meanwhile, the platform tends to prioritize content with less obvious AI indicators, facilitating the ongoing proliferation of a substantial volume of low-quality content.

Although YouTube has implemented AI age verification technology, experts argue that relying solely on technological solutions cannot fundamentally address the issue. Instead, the platform must revamp its recommendation system and bolster its content review processes.