Are the ‘lo-fi beats’ you’re chilling to on YouTube actually made with AI?

Lo-fi videos and playlists have been a fixture for YouTube users who seek long-form, atmospheric music recommendations.

These playlists, single-hours-long videos with multiple tracks, all songs with the same theme, are often accompanied by simple, looping animations or slideshow visuals that capture a particular mood, time, or place. 

Think of titles like “French house to goof off to,” “it’s 1979 and you are smoking a cigarette out of your Los Angeles office,” or simply “Sip.” These relaxing, ambient beats offer a low-key, curated soundtrack for studying, working, or winding down—music that feels thoughtfully crafted but demands little from the listener.

However, fans of this genre are discovering that many of these playlists appear to be made with AI, sounding formulaic, bulk-produced, and repetitive. 

One of the channels in question is “What is ?,” which features light-hearted jazz hip-hop instrumental videos all around an hour long. The channel only launched in September 2024 but already has over 130,000 subscribers, with its most popular video “Sip” drawing nearly two million views. 

In just two months, the channel released eight video playlists, each containing around 16 tracks each. None of them have any artist credits. 

While there is no direct indication that “What is ?” uses AI to generate its music, many listeners expressed suspicions. On an early video, user @RE0XY commented, “This sounds like music made by Suno,” a popular AI music generation tool that allows people to create tracks by choosing genres and using text prompts to guide composition.

The channel liked the comment, which some interpreted as a tacit admission.

Derrick Gee, a music commentator based in Australia, shared the same suspicion. In a video called “Should we be afraid of this YouTube channel,” he created a very similar playlist by prompting Suno to make a “chill lo-fi instrumental.” 

@gee_derrick Do u think its real?? #lofi #ai ♬ original sound - Derrick Gee

Gee told The Daily Dot that the channel “What is ?” contacted him asking him to take the video down after it gained widespread attention, drawing over four million views between Instagram and TikTok. The channel’s email did not deny the use of AI but requested the video be removed to avoid negative comments. Gee declined the request.

The channel has since blocked keywords like “AI-generated” in its comment section.

Many other YouTube channels like Serene and Midnight Muse appear to follow a similar playbook, releasing a high volume of looped music with branded visuals and consistent motifs. Some of these channels have opted to disclose their use of AI, including Midnight Muse, marked by YouTube’s “Altered or synthetic content” label in the video description. 

However, many do not.

According to YouTube’s policy, creators are only required to disclose they have used generative AI if “a viewer could easily mistake for a real person, place, scene, or event.” 

YouTube currently does not mandate creators to disclose “content that is clearly unrealistic, animated, includes special effects, or has used generative AI for production assistance.”

The site also does not have a policy preventing AI-generated content from being monetized, as long as it complies with the platform's guidelines against spam, deceptive practices, and scams.

In an email to the Daily Dot, a YouTube spokesperson said that in some cases, YouTube may add an AI label even when a creator hasn't disclosed it, especially if the altered or synthetic content has the potential to confuse or mislead people. 

The spokesperson did not indicate whether more specific regulations are in the works for AI-generated playlists.

YouTube’s hands-off approach has raised concerns as AI-generated content proliferates.

“It’s a catastrophe and it goes unchecked,” Gee told The Daily Dot. 

The channel “What is ?” did not respond to a Daily Dot’s inquiry about whether it uses AI in its music.

“I'm torn because this is a slippery slope and buries legitimate artists,” said Reddit user Newbrood2000 in a thread about this problem, “The other side is so much lofi that's created is so uninspired. It's premade Rhodes loops with a drum loop and rain fx. This is why 24hr channels can be profitable because people have it as background music and don't care about the artist. All the songs blend into one so what does it matter if it's AI or human made if it has the same bland sound?”

The rise of generative AI music tools has led to the emergence of tutorials on YouTube, teaching creators how to make quick money with AI-generated music. 

Many suggest genres like techno, EDM, meditation, and lo-fi as the easiest to automate, with some boasting potential earnings of up to $300 per day from tracks that cost as little as 16 cents to produce. 

Many people online point out that the saturation of these AI-generated playlists squeeze the space of real artists. “I think we should ask if AI music should be monetized especially when we are trying to advocate for artists to be paid fairly”, said TikTok user @quentincastiel under Gee’s video. 

Many artists have spoken out against the use of AI in the music industry. In April, over 200 musicians including Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj signed an open letter against the “predatory” use of AI in the industry.

But that hasn’t stopped the lo-fi spread on YouTube. 

“Lo-fi,” or “low-fidelity music,” is a production style that highlights imperfect recording quality, often by choice, that can span different genres.

YouTube channel “Lo-fi Girl” helped explode the trend. Launched in 2018 by the label Chillhop Music, “Lo-fi Girl” has 14.6 million subscribers. 

Its most popular stream “lofi hip hop radio ???? beats to relax/study to” regularly attracts tens of thousands of simultaneous viewers.

Interest in lo-fi music surged in recent years. According to Google Trends, searches for the term “lo-fi” on YouTube have tripled since 2020. Popular channels like Chill Chill Journal and The Japanese Town both have videos that amassed millions of views.

Lo-fi YouTube channels developed alongside the rise of curated playlists on streaming platforms like Spotify. Some creators point out that their popularity stems from providing low-effort, background music for listeners who don’t want to curate playlists themselves. 

“Lo-fi is entirely about passive listening,” said Aaron Richardson, the producer behind the channel "lazyboyloops," in an interview with Sherwood. 

And as such, many listeners may not care if it's fake.

“Hasn’t this genre always felt a little bit AI anyway?” Gee asked.

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