YouTube star MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) has expressed serious concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on the livelihoods of content creators. Even though he himself uses the technology, Donaldson openly questioned how AI-generated videos could affect “millions of professional content creators” and called this era “scary times.”
MrBeast, who topped Forbes’ 2025 list of highest-earning creators with $85 million in earnings and 634 million followers, has sparked worry among fellow creators with his stance. His comments came shortly after the release of the new version of OpenAI’s Sora 2 audio and video generator, along with a mobile app that allows users to create AI videos, including their own. The app quickly climbed to the top of the US App Store.
YouTube itself is actively adopting AI. The platform now offers AI-powered editing tools, including the Veo video model that can animate still photos or apply different styles to videos. Even YouTube Studio features an AI chatbot that answers creators’ questions about channel management.
Interestingly, MrBeast has previously taken AI-related steps himself. This past summer, he launched a tool to generate small thumbnails for his videos using AI, but following criticism from fans and creators, he quickly removed it from his analytics platform Viewstats, replacing it with human artists. His charity branch has also occasionally invested in AI.
Currently, discussions continue over whether AI video creation will turn everyone into a creator or if the best content will still require human creativity. On the other hand, some people label AI videos as “slop” (low-quality content) and dislike seeing such material in feeds. Even if AI becomes indistinguishable in the future, creators who fail to disclose their use of the technology risk losing fan trust and harming their reputations.
