How A.I.-Generated Videos Are Distorting Your Child’s YouTube Feed

Ms. Hassan, 29, declined to say how much revenue this particular video generated or how much the channel makes overall, but noted that if videos “get nice views, it will give you a nice living.”

She even showed some of the videos she created to her former students.

“They loved it,” she said. “They picked up very fast from the videos. They learned the sounds. They learned the spellings. They learned the letters,” Ms. Hassan said.

When asked about how children can be distracted by these kinds of effects, Ms. Hassan responded that TV channels and other YouTube channels for children also rely heavily on visual effects, and that she’s just following a model of children’s programming that has been around for years.

However, when it comes to learning, experts say children benefit most from watching media that has a clear narrative with a beginning, middle and end, along with characters that children can attach to and scenes that relate to their real life. Ms. Barr noted that storybooks and other well-structured content aligns with a familiar format, which is following a character throughout a journey. Media that illustrates relatable scenes, like going to the park, ultimately help children understand and connect back to their own world.

Simple language and short phrases are also helpful when it comes to cognitive development. Programming that teaches children about concepts like problem-solving or feature intentional repetition can help with memory recall.

One example is PBS Kids’ “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” a modern spinoff of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which follows a young animated tiger who teaches life skills and social strategies. The show’s creators said they work with child development experts when crafting their stories.

Ellen Doherty, chief creative officer at Fred Rogers Productions, explained that they developed a structural pattern for the show, specifically in the format of two separate short stories in every episode with songs that strategically help reinforce the themes within the episode that parents and children can both sing and remember. This music also helps move the story along, but at a controlled speed.

“Everything happens in a pace that a young child who does not have cinematic language yet can follow and can actually literally process what’s happening,” said Ms. Doherty.

In one story, Daniel Tiger teaches children about brushing their teeth through song, making sure to interact with young viewers and taking long pauses.

“That spark of human connection is everything,” said Ms. Doherty.

But just because a video contains A.I. elements, does it mean it can’t foster human connection?

Some researchers like Ying Xu, an assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, say that well designed A.I. can actually serve to support children’s learning by satisfying children’s curiosity and helping answer their questions.

Ms. Xu focuses her research on designing A.I. that supports language and literacy development, and collaborates closely with producers of the animated PBS Kids’ shows “Elinor Wonders Why” and “Lyla in the Loop.”

For Ms. Xu’s research, an interactive Elinor was developed to allow children to directly respond to the character’s questions, who offered feedback based on the children’s responses. Ms. Xu found that the conversational videos helped children better understand STEM concepts.

“I don’t agree that adults should actually use A.I. to monetize, to mass produce low-quality videos, but I do think that it actually offers a tool for children to express themselves,” Ms. Xu said, adding the caveat that navigating certain A.I. tools to help children engage in storytelling by creating their own multimedia content should always be guided by teachers and parents.

Juliana Castro Varón contributed reporting. Amogh Vaz contributed video production.