AI slop is ruining all of our favorite places to scroll
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
An AI-generated video of rabbits jumping on a trampoline that went viral this week — and was widely believed to be real — proved even cute animal vids aren't safe from convincing slop machines.
Why it matters: All the fake AI-generated content online is sapping the joy of casual scrolling.
- It's not just animal vids. Hobbyists say genAI is ruining gardening forums, knitting communities and the entire DIY aesthetic on Pinterest. AI-generated images lack the imperfections that make these community connections relatable.
- Vogue ran an ad featuring an AI model in its August print issue and readers called the ads hollow and accused them of stealing jobs from models and photographers.
- Fake influencers have been slipping into our feeds for a few years, but they're getting harder to spot now that image generators have mastered fingers — though they still struggle with knees.
Driving the news: The latest viral video in question features outdoor night camera footage of the bounding bunnies, which was quickly debunked. The tell-tale signs: lack of continuity, defying physics, and a glitchy video timer.
- Young people online expressing their fear that falling for the bunnies made them feel old quickly became a trend.
Fun fact: A real coyote trampoline video sparked this craze, according to YouTuber Jeremy Carrasco.
Between the lines: AI-generated oddities are showing up in our feeds more often because they're lucrative for creators.
- The weirder it is, the more time we spend looking at it, signaling the algorithm that we want to see more like it.
- If we watch content over and over again or stop scrolling to see if an image or video shows the signs of being AI-generated, that's more fuel for the algorithm.
- Engagement — even confusion-driven engagement — is valuable.
Catch up quick: Images and videos generated with OpenAI, Google and Meta's sophisticated free or cheap AI tools are swamping the internet and fooling even the savviest scrollers.
- This particular brand of synthetic content is called AI slop because it oozes into and potentially suffocates human-made media. Others argue it's more nuanced.
Slop isn't new either, Ben Kusin, founder of AI studio Kartel, told Axios.
- He points to shows like "America's Funniest Home Videos" as evidence that what some call "slop" has existed long before generative AI.
- "AI has democratized the ability for people to make that at scale," Kusin said.
- "It's going to create a net negative effect," Kusin argued. It's a deluge that's no longer manageable, he said.
Zoom out: More users appear to be adapting to and growing comfortable with AI-generated content overall.
- Case in point: In 2023, the musician Nick Cave called AI "a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human." This week, Cave released a video featuring an AI Elvis.
What to watch: Platforms themselves must stop incentivizing the slop, Kusin explained.
- If you open up Instagram and all you see is AI slop, you might stop opening up Instagram. This, Kusin said, is "an existential threat to the platform."
