Slop is everywhere for those with eyes to see

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Supply, Demand, and the Scarcity of Originality

  • One camp argues demand is capped by human attention (24h/day) and supply has exploded, pushing prices and rewards for quality down.
  • Others say the true scarcity is originality: most fantasy feels like “more elves and dwarves,” and much video is reactions to other videos.
  • This explains the paradox of “nothing to watch on YouTube” despite abundance: lots of content, little that feels new.

Algorithms, Incentives, and the Turn to Slop

  • Several commenters note that algorithmic feeds reward quantity, clickability, and ad inventory over craft.
  • For creators, it can be rational to produce more low-effort pieces rather than fewer high-effort ones if algorithms bury slower, better work.
  • A small creator describes feeling pressured to distort their content and show more ads to gain reach; integrity and growth often conflict.

AI Slop, Spam, and Platform Quality

  • Many see AI-generated “slop” as just the next step in an older trend of low-effort, engagement-optimized media (fast-food analogy).
  • Concerns: AI flood makes it harder to find the occasional useful human piece and is already degrading search results.
  • Some argue output quality, not authorship, matters; others reply that even “true” AI content can still be spam.
  • Predictions that most new content soon will be AI; some speculate bots may end up consuming much of it.

Addiction, Escaping Feeds, and Possible Backlash

  • Debate over whether AI-only feeds (e.g., Sora-style apps) will be tolerated; some think they already fizzled, others note human engagement patterns still drive what wins.
  • A few hope ubiquitous slop might finally push people off screens toward offline hobbies and analog activities; others are pessimistic given the resources poured into maximizing addictiveness.
  • Multiple commenters describe tactics: uninstalling apps, using “following-only” views, ad/engagement filters, or abandoning platforms with poor signal-to-noise.

Discovery, Fragmentation, and New Skills

  • Some lament that while high-quality essays, art, and videos exist “outside the FYP,” they’re buried on the same platforms or on fading sites.
  • There’s disagreement over whether losing top creators could hurt platforms; many think the long tail quickly fills any gap.
  • Several predict “slop recognition” itself will become an important literacy skill.

Tangent Threads

  • Side discussions spin off into language misuse (“literally,” “begs the question”) and typography/design of the article’s site, reflecting broader sensitivity to “sloppiness” beyond AI content.