- 5 days ago
A faceless creator speaks out about a real problem hitting YouTube: AI slop, false detection, and the risk it poses to channels that do not use AI. After more than six years of making space and animation videos, he explains that his views and revenue have been falling for months even while audience feedback and watch metrics stay strong.
Using Kurzgesagt as a key example, he discusses how YouTube’s AI detection systems may be misclassifying legitimate faceless channels and suppressing their reach. He also reflects on his own workflow, from Space Engine and green screen to editing, music, and thumbnails, and makes a clear case for human-made art, scientific entertainment, and original creative work.
This is a personal commentary on the future of a YouTube channel, the pressure of algorithm changes, and the challenge of staying independent when income depends on recommendations. It is especially relevant for creators, viewers of astronomy content, and anyone following the debate around AI-generated videos, faceless channels, and platform monetization.
SEO: YouTube AI detection, faceless YouTube channel, AI slop, algorithm changes, Kurzgesagt, astronomy videos, animation commentary, creator income, YouTube monetization, human-made content, original video essay, and independent content creation. Ideal for viewers searching for YouTube creator commentary, AI vs human content, and space animation channel updates.
Using Kurzgesagt as a key example, he discusses how YouTube’s AI detection systems may be misclassifying legitimate faceless channels and suppressing their reach. He also reflects on his own workflow, from Space Engine and green screen to editing, music, and thumbnails, and makes a clear case for human-made art, scientific entertainment, and original creative work.
This is a personal commentary on the future of a YouTube channel, the pressure of algorithm changes, and the challenge of staying independent when income depends on recommendations. It is especially relevant for creators, viewers of astronomy content, and anyone following the debate around AI-generated videos, faceless channels, and platform monetization.
SEO: YouTube AI detection, faceless YouTube channel, AI slop, algorithm changes, Kurzgesagt, astronomy videos, animation commentary, creator income, YouTube monetization, human-made content, original video essay, and independent content creation. Ideal for viewers searching for YouTube creator commentary, AI vs human content, and space animation channel updates.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Hey everyone, today I'm making a video I never thought I'd have to make.
00:05But I genuinely need to try and do something because it's getting to a point where the future
00:11of the channel is not certain. You guys know I almost never talk in my videos. Not only am I
00:18a
00:18faceless channel but I'm also a voiceless channel. For more than six years now I've been creating
00:24content on YouTube and pretty much man it's the first time I'm having to do a video like
00:29this one really. So yeah if you haven't heard it yet a voice reveal just for you today.
00:34I've been creating videos out of passion and then somewhere along the line it became what
00:39I was doing full-time. I'm very lucky to be working in a field I'm passionate about.
00:44I love making videos, I love editing, I love space of course and yeah something I can just pour my
00:52creativity into and that can earn me money at the same time that's a rare thing in today's world.
00:57Sadly in the last year particularly in the last few months something changed. AI slop started
01:04spreading on YouTube and everywhere on the internet really but particularly on YouTube.
01:09This AI slop that always has been confined to a small corner of YouTube just started spreading
01:15everywhere on the platform. You see it on the home page, you see it in the recommended, you see it
01:20even in ads before a video and it's a large proportion of the content we see thrown around. Because of
01:26this
01:26YouTube had to react but the way they're doing it is putting countless faceless and animation channels
01:33that don't even use AI at risk and in a very bad situation. Basically YouTube have implemented some
01:39kind of system or modified the algorithm to detect and suppress possibly shadow ban AI content, low effort
01:48content right, which is very much a good thing and I'm all for that. The problem is that system is
01:54not good.
01:55And many faceless channels and animation channels that do not use AI at all have been basically caught
02:01in a crossfire. They, we are being hit hard and the views and revenues are going down like crazy. And
02:08yeah,
02:08I think I can say it might be happening to me. I don't know exactly how they are doing it.
02:13Maybe it's some
02:15kind of collateral damage done by the algorithm in a response to all the AI slop out there but even
02:20if it's
02:21not intentional they need to do better. Maybe you've seen this community post from Kurskazark. I don't
02:27know if I'm saying this right. You know the very popular space animation channel. They explain that
02:33their number and performance has been slowly getting worse. At first they say they didn't think much of
02:38it because it happens right. This is YouTube after all. But the problem wasn't only the poor performance
02:43but also the fact that all the other metrics were doing good, if not great. Like the average view
02:49time, the click-through rate. Basically the people that were seeing the videos were loving it but it
02:54was reaching less and less people. Because of this weird contradiction right, they got in touch with
02:59YouTube and YouTube themselves actually confirmed that their AI detection tool basically classified
03:05Kurskazark. Out of all channels, Kurskazark got classified as AI slop. The system or the algorithm
03:12basically started choking the reach of their channel and stopped recommending their videos to people as
03:18much as it normally would. Kurskazark is a huge channel and they've been around for a long time.
03:24They have contacts at YouTube so they were or it seems they were able to resolve this. However, the sad
03:29reality is that this is probably happening to a lot of creators across the platform. Huge faceless channel,
03:36some way larger than me, they're all trying to push through this situation. Other examples are Real
03:42Engineering, Bluejay and many many more. I think I can fairly confidently say that this is happening to
03:49my channel too. With this confirmation from an extremely established channel like Kurskazark,
03:54we know now for sure that not only a system like this exists but that it can also falsely target
04:01channels that are not using AI. Keep in mind, this is all happening while AI content is still very much
04:07thriving on the platform. This channel has become my main source of income. This is how I eat, this is
04:13how
04:13I pay the bills. This is what I dedicate my time and effort to because I love it and I
04:18found success in
04:19it. But in the last few months, the channel has been really hurt. View wise and revenue wise,
04:25month after month, upload after upload, in the same way that all these other faceless channels
04:29have described it. I knew something was off because the performance was only getting worse but
04:35all the feedback from you guys and my other stats were getting better. So yeah, I knew something
04:41wasn't quite making sense. At first, I was almost losing my mind trying to find the source of the problem.
04:47But then I saw the Kurskazark community post and I dig deeper and I found that many,
04:53many other faceless channels are going through the same situation and in the same time frame.
04:57The scary thing is, if it can happen to big channels like Kurskazark with millions of subscribers,
05:03I cannot even begin to imagine how many people this is affecting. And they cannot do anything about it.
05:09Like day after day, I'm hitting some of the lowest stats I've been at for two or three years,
05:14for months now. Every upload that I do perform worse than the last. And every time I think,
05:19okay, this time, you know, I've created something pretty good. Maybe it's going to perform better.
05:23And then it releases and boom, number hit. And once again, it's performing terrible.
05:28Some of you know, I use different things when I create my videos. I use software called Space Engine.
05:34I use green screen. I use animations. I use a lot of different things to make my videos come alive.
05:40But one thing I do not use is AI. Now, my channel is kind of a mix of things that
05:46could be problematic
05:47for this because, you know, faceless, voiceless, animation, and astronomy content. Sadly,
05:54astronomy and space are topics that are absolutely plagued by AI channel and AI slot everywhere on the
06:01platform. It is genuinely sad how much misinformation is spread on purpose by people with no respect,
06:08no passion for the creative process. I consider my content to be scientific, entertainment, but
06:15also artistic. Some videos have this artistic feel to them more than others, but usually I like to think
06:21of some of my videos like small movies with each their own feel, music, and emotion, you know. And
06:28that's why I want to keep doing it all myself to share my vision, my feelings, and my way of
06:33seeing
06:33things with you all. Like, I don't even want other people to do it in my place. That's why I
06:38have no
06:38editor and let alone AI. When I create, my goal is often to kind of translate the feeling I have
06:45into
06:45a cool audiovisual experience using the right music, the right images, the right footage, and text. I am
06:52and always will be against using AI for art as, you know, it defies the very purpose of art, human
06:59expression,
06:59human emotion, and trying to share or like communicate these emotions to someone. How could AI
07:04possibly create something meant to communicate emotions if they don't have any? Now I'll start
07:10to sound like an old guy, but I've been on this platform for a couple years. I've seen YouTube
07:15change a lot. I've seen the dislike button disappear. I've seen the direction this platform
07:19change. And now YouTube is having to deal with problems they basically created and nurtured. Back then,
07:25when I was seeing all those AI slop videos, yes, of course, I was a little worried, but never that
07:30much really, because I knew you wouldn't replace what people truly want. And I'm very happy to see
07:35mostly anti-AI stance all around the internet. I don't have a team. Since the beginning, it's only
07:40been just me. The research, the script, the footage, the editing, the thumbnails, everything. I do everything
07:46myself and it does take a tremendous amount of time, but I love it. I do it because I love
07:51it and
07:51it's incredibly rewarding to me. But right now it's to a point where I'm struggling to see how
07:57this can be sustainable if the algorithm continues to go down the way it's been going for me in the
08:01last few months. It's literally an unstoppable downward trend. My revenue is down more than three
08:07times what it was before. I am committed and I am still trying to push the best content out there,
08:13because that's what I want to do. But I can't lie, it's been hard. If I cannot find a way
08:18to make my
08:19income more reliable, I'll have to start thinking about other possibilities besides YouTube. But
08:24every time I think about doing something else, I don't want to. I like what I do here. And I
08:29think
08:29a lot of you like it as well. I like brainstorming on video ideas. I like editing, talking about my
08:35passion through music and animations. I like taking a coffee in the morning and reading the comments,
08:41reading about the teachers that says he shows my content to his student, reading about this guy who
08:46says he's watching religiously with his dad and it's one of their favorite moments together.
08:51Of course money is important to make the whole thing sustainable, but that's not what gives it
08:55meaning. I know some of you have been there for years, like this guy, Deliverance. He has been
09:01commenting on pretty much every video for years. I see you. I see you all in the comments and honestly
09:07it's been more than enough. You've been here and you've been supporting me and I cannot thank you all
09:12enough for that. All that being said, with this situation, I'd like to find ways to rely less on
09:18the algorithm and keep creating in a more independent way, particularly with Patreon where
09:24you can help. Right now I'm not getting a crazy amount, maybe around a hundred dollars per month,
09:30for which I am already thankful. If I could rely more on this and less on the algorithm, that way
09:35maybe,
09:35just maybe I get less affected by the algorithm change and YouTube's strange decision. I could
09:42become less of a slave to the algorithm and deliver more original content, try things, experiment with
09:48videos, without having to try viral or clickbaity topics. Right now, if you have the future of this
09:54channel at heart and can afford it, please consider supporting the channel. Even the lowest $2 tier on
10:01Patreon can make a huge difference. I don't know exactly what will happen in the future, but yeah,
10:08I'll try my best for now. Much love. Bye bye.