a day ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The AI slop gold rush: Viral videos you wish would stop (but make money)
A strange new digital economy is booming, and it doesn't look great, or feel real. Overnight, creators across platforms have been weaponizing AI tools like ChatGPT, ElevenLabs, and OpenAI's Sora to churn out surreal, bizarre, and low-effort videos. These AI-generated mini-clips, known as 'AI slop', are flooding TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram with bizarre content, harvesting views, and raking in cash. It's cheap entertainment, but for creators struggling to stay visible, it's a signal of what's overtaking the web. AI Slop videos future of content creation?
How ordinary people turn bizarre AI videos into side hustles
A good example would be the viral 'Monkey Vlogger' on Indian YouTube. The creator started showing videos of a monkey talking like humans in places of significance like the Kumbh Mela, Ghats of Kaashi, and more. The videos then moved to being daily vlogging where the monkey is getting groceries, taking public conveyance and living a human-like life. The first video got around 1.1M views, and the same have been only increasing with time.
This isn't a one-off. Anyone can grab a few AI tools and start posting. Creators without production skills now dominate algorithms by feeding bizarre, surreal videos that hook attention and generate views. Some are quitting their day jobs, teaching others how to replicate the same fast-content pipeline, and get paid.
On YouTube, these AI clip channels draw millions, even as platforms scramble to weed them out with new monetization rules. YouTube is tightening its Partner Program to favour 'authentic content', but slop creators are already using tricks to dodge detection. And major brands dangerously continue running ads next to this content, often unknowingly fuelling slop-fuelled engagement.
Why true creators are worried
For artists, filmmakers, and real creators, AI slop is crushing. Their meticulously crafted work gets buried beneath a tsunami of low-effort chaos. Even worse: AI slop is being weaponized to spread misinformation, deepfakes, and outrage bait faster than platforms can moderate.
This isn't innovation, it's a cheap yet polished trick designed to game attention algorithms. And until creators, platforms, and regulators get serious about authenticity, and start rewarding quality content again, this trend is just going to get more twisted, surreal, and profitable.
