[n42]

why do I get so annoyed every time I read the word "slop" used like this? I have the same reaction with "enshittification". am I just getting grumpy and old?

it triggers the same eye roll as the schoolyard bully nicknames so popular in politics right now. bite sized, zero effort, fashionable take downs that suffocate any attempt at genuine discourse.

but I am probably just grumpy and old.

[lexandstuff]

Personally, I think it's a perfect word for what it is: carelessly created content that no one wants.

[charcircuit]

Except you also see people complain about how many likes or views they get on social media. There is signal that people like a subset of "slop".

[southernplaces7]

I've always preferred the word sludge. A mixed-up waste byproduct of something that was already made, accumulating in low places, ignored when possible but capable of being toxic and clogging up things that are supposed to work better.

[maxbond]

I think these words are useful because they convey a feeling of disenchantment people are experiencing with technology. "You say this is progress, but the experience keeps getting shittier. You say this model's output is the next big thing, but my plate is filled with indistinguishable slop."

I would point out what they're criticizing is also lazy and driven by trends, the reflexive acceptance that whatever is new is inevitable and must be embraced. To me "slop" especially feels splashing someone with a bucket of water to try and wake them up from a stupor.

[add-sub-mul-div]

New phenomena need new words.

[Labov]

"Slop" is a bit snappier than "artificial cultural homogenization." Now that'd get some eye rolls.

[JKCalhoun]

I feel as you do but I also recognize that I am a bit defensive with regard to LLMs.

And maybe I'm a little too optimistic? Because I see a world in a few years when AI is producing content good enough that those still calling it "slop" will come across as sounding a little shrill.

[anton-c]

If it's AI art/vid with an AI voice reading an AI script(as has become common on youtube) it will always be slop, regardless of how high quality the output is.

I want to know a person's ideas, not a computers regurgitation of others'. It's low effort and usually lacks a point.

Now it doesnt have zero usefulness in writing/the arts. Probably tons tbh. For instance someone using AI voice because they aren't an English speaker and want to talk to that audience, or using it to clean up grainy film is different (in my opinion) than genning the writing or art.

Things made without enough human in the loop - I've found - lack purpose and identity. I dont see AI changing there. If it wasn't a good idea from the start, ai isn't gonna fix that. No amount of awesome cgi or a-list actors saves a terrible script.

The only people I see pushing stuff like ai music is spotify so it doesn't have to pay royalties, but everyone I speak to hates it. The listeners, artists, and the record labels those models stole from. Probably instrument and audio software makers too. When people figure out a pic is AI they voice frustration and embarrassment.

There's more in the word 'slop' than just bad content. Comments/posts on here or reddit often get slaughtered solely because it was written by AI and the user wasn't skilled enough to hide it. Some people just don't like reading something a machine trying to sound like a person wrote.

I don't doubt we will advance to the stage where it becomes on the same level quality-wise, but doubt most people would be wanting AI content while human made stuff is available. It will still be considered low effort slop by many, I believe.

[throwawayoldie]

It's easy to be grumpy in a world full of enshittified slop.