The Quiet Spread of AI-Generated ‘Brainrot’ Across Social Media

Some videos are explicitly made to mimic reality, while others use artificial intelligence in more absurd ways.

Open AI's newly released text-to-video "Sora" tool is advertised on their website on a monitor in Washington, DC, on Feb. 16, 2024. Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images

Elephants drop-kicking crocodiles while breaking the laws of physics, bewildering deepfakes of politicians and deceased public figures, and seemingly animated children’s videos of Jesus fighting the Grinch: generative artificial intelligence (AI) is sweeping across online video platforms and may now account for a sizable portion of YouTube’s short-form video feed, recent research shows.

After being accused last year of causing users to end up in psychiatric wards and allegedly helping multiple depressed teenagers take their own lives, generative AI tools are also inspiring new genres of online content.