dear reader,

i’ve been off social media for over a month — again.

on top of its endless list of negative side effects, i got tired of seeing the internet get taken over by ai slop.

over 50% of articles in the last few years have been written by ai.

the number has to be higher on social apps. i see it everywhere and gag every time.

we used to be distracted by content other people made — funny memes, rage bait, tragedy p0rn. but now our attention is being pillaged by robots. some of it is funny as fuck, but most of it is bullshit.

the thought of surrendering my attention and the little bit of free time i have each day to machine-created slop terrifies me.

i don't expect big tech to do anything about the slop overtaking our feeds. it’s not in their best interest to nerf the slop and push out genuinely valuable, enriching content. their algorithms are going to push whatever keeps our eyes glued to the screens and their wallets fat.

the slop is also self-replicating. ai is trained on internet content, which is now majority ai-generated, which means the models are feeding on their own output, which means each generation of slop will be slightly worse than the last. make of that what you will.

the internet remains this beautiful, enriching place but, over the last few years, social media has taken a clear nosedive in terms of quality.

nowadays, i’m focusing more and more energy on owning what i produce and intentionally curating what i consume. no more algorithms spoon-feeding me slop.

it’s important for creatives to have a place where their work lives and no one can take it from them. a place where they can connect directly with their audience without having to sloppify their material to please algorithms who give no fucks about them.

ownership gives you the freedom to say what you want to say, how you want to say it. permission to share unique, high-quality ideas, making the internet a place worth frequenting again.

p.s. — been watching a lot of this lately. a great antidote to the slop: objects with a soul