AI Slop Is Not the Escapism We Asked For

image credit: Ron Lach via Pixels

Around a year ago, my friend sent AI slop to the group chat—specifically, an X-Factor reel that showed “magicians” turning into various animals. Despite it being obviously AI, (smoothed faces, inconsistent body movements, and a literal transformation), two of my close friends were fooled. While I laughed at the time, I’ve thought about it a lot since. Hearing this anecdote as an outsider, it’s easy to dismiss, but as a friend, I can’t shake it off. These are some of the most intelligent people I know—and yet, they were fooled by AI. 

In the age of Tralalero Tralala and Tung Tung Tung Sahur, should we be questioning our draw to AI slop? Are there consequences even when we only use it for humorous purposes? Is it actually rotting our brains, or is it never that deep?

I hear AI is being used to do incredible things—increasing accessibility for people with disabilities through sign-language AI models and eye tests for a common cause of blindness, preventing diseases such as cancer, and, when done carefully, supporting conservation of endangered species. But there is a distinct difference between these innovations (much-needed products that fill a void in the market) and ‘creations’ that plagiarise the works of unconsenting artists and writers. Ultimately, this craving for efficiency is an excuse to ‘fix’ a non-existent issue that often does a worse job and erodes users’ ability to think. 

In a hollow attempt not to pull a “back in my day”, even something as low-brow as memes was better before the rise of AI. There is something charming about badly Photoshopped pictures, deep-fried memes, and poorly acted Vines that feels forced in the manufactured brainrot lore. When a meme became popular, it felt almost community-based, like a moment of bonding among people from all walks of life. It’s not to say that it doesn’t exist anymore—far from it. But the funniest circulating inside jokes of the internet haven’t been AI memes. Take the viral JD Vance picture: every poorly edited photo was infinitely more hilarious than the soulless yellow-toned AI slop, which would attempt to join in. 

To be clear, I don’t think one person no longer consuming AI slop is going to change the world, especially when there are bigger actors and corporations at play. Sure, AI is bad for the environment, but the environmental impact of someone who thinks ChatGPT is their boyfriend is infinitesimal compared to Big Oil. But if we want a form of escapism, even just a way to turn our brains off, we shouldn’t be looking to AI. 

What makes the internet so special and revolutionary is that it connects people from across the world. We have become so used to it that it's become a novelty, but that doesn’t mean we should overlook the privilege of living in this era when connection is so easy. This direct human connection is part of the appeal of doomscrolling, laughing at jokes that someone across the world had thought of.

But when we consume this AI slop, created from a lazy prompt that is often also generated by a computer, it provides a barrier between these two selves. Humans can never compete with the sheer output of these bots. That doesn’t mean that AI is making better jokes or artworks; it can just do it faster. When AI rapidly takes over our social media, slop becomes our expectation. The only thing I want to consume is pure, rotting, undeniably human-generated slop - made for humans, by humans.