Shorts are a solid way to get eyes on a new channel, but the "fast and easy" approach usually leads to a dead end. Most beginners treat them like TikTok and just throw random clips at the wall, but YouTube is much more focused on retention. If your hook isn't visual or high-energy within the first three seconds, people swipe and the video is dead.
The biggest mistake to avoid is the re-upload trap. If you are just grabbing clips from movies or other creators and putting a filter over them, you will likely get flagged for reused content when you apply for monetization. YouTube wants original value. Also, try to avoid the "sub for sub" groups. They just give you dead subscribers who won't actually watch your videos, which kills your reach in the long run.
Regarding AI, you can definitely use it for scripting, voiceovers, or generating b-roll, but you have to be careful. YouTube has become much stricter about low-effort AI content. If it looks and sounds like a generic robot reading a Wikipedia page, it probably won't get monetized. To make AI work, you need to add a unique human layer, like your own specific editing style or a unique perspective that a bot couldn't just generate on its own.
You really don't need a paid course to learn this stuff. Most of the best info is free on YouTube itself. Just look up creators who break down the latest algorithm shifts for the current year. The best strategy is to pick one specific theme and stick to it so the algorithm knows who to show your videos to. If you mix too many different topics on one channel, the system gets confused and stops pushing your content.