The Field Guide to AI Slop

Via Artificial Ignorance

https://www.ignorance.ai/p/the-field-guide-to-ai-slop

And what it’s doing to human writing.

“For at least two years now, I’ve been saying how early we are when it comes to all of – gestures broadly – this. And to a large extent, I think that’s still true. We’re still figuring out how to build AI-native products, and while perhaps a majority of people have heard of ChatGPT, it’s unclear how many would consider themselves AI power users.

However, there are occasional signs that the wider world is beginning to change. Perhaps the biggest indicator is how often I run into content that sets off my “written by AI” alarm bells.

In some places, it’s always been obvious: social media comments that have perfect spelling and grammar but zero connection to the original post. Blog posts with a clickbait headline and a meandering, useless body. You know the type.

What’s a little concerning, though, is how much it’s starting to pop up everywhere else. Long-form content that is plausible to read, but still has some je ne sais quoi that comes off as slop. Direct messages from coworkers that are a little bit too verbose, sent a little bit too quickly after you messaged them¹.

And my fears don’t appear to be completely unfounded. One report from SEO firm Graphite suggests that as of last November, more articles were being written by AI than humans (though new data suggests that the rate is now close to even). Meanwhile, an ongoing study from Originality rates around 17% of the top 20 Google results are AI-generated. And data from both Slack and AP-NORC indicate that at least 40% of workers (if not more) are using AI regularly, primarily for searching, ideating, and writing emails.

Take the following excerpt. At first glance, it’s an innocuous, if superficial, social-media-esque post about learning to play the ukulele:

How to learn the ukulele (and maybe anything else too)

A few months ago, I bought a ukulele on a whim. No teacher, no plan—just a vague sense that it would be fun to strum something other than a keyboard.

Here’s what worked:
 Start with songs, not scales. Learn one easy song (I started with Riptide). The quick feedback loop keeps you hooked.
 Practice for 5 minutes × day. Consistency beats intensity. It’s shocking how fast “barely coherent sounds” turn into music.
 Record yourself early. The first clips are painful—but you’ll actually see progress.
 Steal techniques. YouTube is full of great teachers. Copy their rhythm, posture, and transitions shamelessly.

It’s funny—learning the ukulele reminded me how progress feels when you’re a beginner again: awkward, incremental, but unmistakably alive. Ultimately, it’s not just about the music—it’s about the joy of creativity.

Whatever your “ukulele” is—start strumming.

If you’ve used Claude and ChatGPT extensively, you’ll probably clock this as AI-generated immediately. But what exactly gives the game away?””