A census of 25,000 YouTube and TikTok videos finds pro-AI content outnumbers anti-AI 3:1, dominated by memes and productivity hacks rather than abundance or doom. Resisters care most about creative theft, not the x-risk or data center concerns driving elite debate.
From Memes > Doom: How TikTokers and YouTubers See AI – Free Systems (Substack), June 2026.
Adopters (pro-AI content)
| Content type | % |
|---|---|
| AI memes & effects | 43% |
| Career / productivity | 25% |
| Creative tools | 15% |
| Education and learning | 8% |
| AI companionship | 4% |
| Breakthrough science | 1% |
Resisters (anti-AI content)
| Content type | % |
|---|---|
| Creative theft | 22% |
| Deepfakes and misinfo | 19% |
| Jobs displacement | 13% |
| I hate AI (general) | 13% |
| X-risk | 8% |
| Energy / data centers | 6% |
Note: percentages don’t sum to 100 in either column – the piece doesn’t account for the remainder, presumably smaller uncategorized buckets.
As always, the style of YouTube videos kills me. It’s always a giant head looking like they just discovered that they are a turd.
Check out the full readout: Memes > Doom: How TikTokers and YouTubers See AI
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