Species

Species is a YouTube channel and media project founded by Drew Spartz that documents the development of artificial general intelligence and communicates AI risk to broad, general audiences. The channel operates under the tagline "Species | Documenting AGI" and describes itself as a new premium documentary channel about the future of AI, with a production style compared to that of creator Johnny Harris. Drew Spartz previously served as Head of Incubation Program at Nonlinear, an AI safety-focused charity incubator. He spent roughly one year building the channel full-time, investing approximately $100,000 in video production costs and an equivalent amount in his own time, for a total resource investment of around $200,000. The channel has achieved substantial reach: as of late 2025 it had approximately 279,000 subscribers and over 24 million total views across 24 videos. Individual videos routinely exceed one million views, and one video reached approximately seven million views within seven days, ranking as the second most-hyped video globally on YouTube at that time. The channel generates revenue through YouTube monetization and sponsorships, making it one of the few AI safety communication efforts approaching self-sustainability. Species has received at least one grant from Manifund and has been cited in EA Forum analyses as a highly cost-effective AI safety communications project. As of early 2026 the channel was expanding, with five open positions posted including a Senior Thumbnail Designer, and Drew had stated a goal of publishing approximately one video per week.