In a candid post on X, YouTube’s most subscribed creator, MrBeast—real name Jimmy Donaldson—expressed deep concerns about the future of content creation amid breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. “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,” he wrote on October 5.

Donaldson’s warning comes at a pivotal moment for the platform, which boasts over 2.7 billion monthly users and supports a global economy of creators earning through ads, sponsorships, and memberships. With his own channel surpassing 300 million subscribers, MrBeast is no stranger to the high-stakes world of online video, where innovation drives success but also disruption.

The catalyst appears to be recent advancements in AI video generation tools, such as OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo, which can produce realistic footage from simple text prompts. These technologies, powered by vast datasets scraped from the internet, enable anyone to create polished content without cameras, crews, or editing suites – potentially flooding YouTube with synthetic videos that compete for views and revenue.

Fellow creators have echoed these fears. Filmmaker Casey Neistat described Sora as a “TikTok clone where every video is AI,” highlighting how it could erode the human element that defines authentic storytelling. Industry observers note that while AI could democratize creation for hobbyists, it poses existential risks to professionals reliant on original work, with estimates suggesting up to 80% of routine content tasks could be automated in the coming years.

Beyond livelihoods, the shift raises broader issues of privacy and social responsibility. AI models are often trained on publicly available videos without explicit creator consent, sparking debates over data ownership and fair compensation. Advocacy groups like the Creators Rights Alliance have called for transparent labeling of AI-generated content and revenue-sharing mechanisms to protect human creators. Platforms like YouTube, owned by Alphabet, have begun experimenting with detection tools, but experts warn that enforcement lags behind innovation.

MrBeast’s post has garnered over 68,000 likes and thousands of replies, reflecting widespread anxiety in the creator community. As AI evolves, stakeholders urge collaborative solutions: from ethical training guidelines to upskilling programs that blend human creativity with tech tools.

For now, Donaldson remains optimistic about adaptation, but his words serve as a stark reminder that the digital gold rush of YouTube may soon demand new rules to ensure it benefits all participants.