War on Slop (www.jasonthorsness.com)

AI “slop” is the term the author gives to any media delivered at scale by industrial attention‑optimization pipelines—think AI‑generated images and short videos amplified by recommendation algorithms on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts or X. The piece argues the problem isn’t the occasional harmless clip but the system: models and recommendation machines tuned to maximize engagement turn countless innocuous nuggets into a manipulative, profit‑driven stream that displaces other activities and harms mental health, especially for younger users. As generative models improve, these pipelines will become even more effective at capturing attention unless checked. The author calls for practical pushback: individuals should remove or curb these apps; policymakers should enable user rights (for example, the ability to disable Reels/Shorts); developers should build tools that put control back in users’ hands; and researchers and advocates must translate evidence about harms into social norms and policies. Technically, the threat is not one model output but closed‑loop systems—personalization, short‑form formats, and AI‑driven content generation—optimized for retention. The takeaway: the dystopian outcome isn’t inevitable, but countermeasures across personal habits, legislation, engineering, and public awareness are urgent if we want AI to augment rather than exploit human attention.