Slop Is the New AI Spam: What It Is and How to Avoid It

Slop is the bad content created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), flooding our online spaces just as spam once did. At Science of People, we believe in harnessing technology responsibly, and that means avoiding the creation of slop.

Here’s what it is, how to stop it, and how to recognize it!

What is Slop?

Slop refers to low-quality, poorly-crafted ai-generated content. Sure, AI can be a powerful tool for generating ideas or writing out that email you’ve procrastinated on writing for days, but it often lacks the creativity and genuineness that humans have.

How to Recognize Slop

You can usually recognize slop by four signs:

1. Repetitive and generic language: AI can produce text that feels robotic and lacks personality, especially if the user is bad at prompting AI. Look for phrases such as,  “Picture this,” “X isn’t just Y; it’s Z,” or a whole host of nautical-like phrases.
2. Lack of original thought: The content usually sounds like it’s generic and unoriginal, no matter if the AI is from Google, Facebook, or ChatGPT. The content might lack personality or personal anecdotes and sounds a bit too “same-same.:”
3. Inaccurate information: AI can sometimes produce content with factual errors or outdated information, especially if there are lots of numbers involved (think dates).
4. Poor engagement: Taking into account all of the above, slop usually sounds boring. Sure, the info might be good enough, but it’s just not engaging.
5. Over-use of fancy adjectives: Humans know not to drop tons of elaborate words in one sentence. AI can think this is impressive.

How to Stop Slop (and Avoid Creating it Yourself!)

Just because slop exists doesn’t mean you have to avoid AI entirely. Here are some pro tips to take into account to avoid slop:

Give Anti-Slop Prompts

When prompting AI, tell it to keep it’s answers brief and jargon-free. If it does a bad job, tell it to try again! Remember AI will take any and all direction from you. Be sure to tell it exactly what it is doing wrong so it can correct itself.

Review and Edit Rigorously

Many people make the mistake of simply copy-pasting everything ChatGPT spits out. Eek!

This can lead to a lot of slop. Instead, you definitely need to become proficient at editing AI. Follow these guidelines:

1. Fact-Check Information: How reliable is the info? Cross-reference facts, dates, statistics, and claims along with their sources for accuracy. Make sure you’re checking reputable websites, academic journals (if available), and authoritative books to verify your info.
2. Cut The Fluff: If there’s one thing AI is good at, it’s good at gathering info. This can lead to the trap of sounding extremely generic. While the info might be good, I find that many times you can cut at least 50% of the information AI has given you, and sound even more precise and clearer.
3. Add Your Stories: Add personal anecdotes, real-life examples, and your own ideas to any piece of content. It could be a funny relatable story, example of a famous person like a celebrity or actor, a case study, or something more personal. Remember, humans are hardwired to love stories, so including your very own are key!

Focus On Giving Value

Ask yourself: “What can I give my audience that hasn’t already been done before?”

Chances are, by adding a little here and there, you can give an otherwise generic piece of content a fresh glow up that it deserves.

Here are some of my favorite techniques:

1. Engage Your Audience: I absolutely love asking my readers their opinions, especially since everyone is so unique. For example, you can use an app like Crowdsignal to implement live surveys or polls to engage your audience. Or, you can turn on comments on your blog post and gain valuable feedback.
2. Do Your Own Research: Sure, AI is great at asking it to find research. But what about your own research? Here at Science of People, we’ve done many amazing studies, like analyzing 495 Shark Tank pitches to find out what made pitches successful. Creating your own studies (even if it’s just a handful of friends!) can be helpful in distinguishing your content.
3. Have a Unique Perspective: A blog post on how to live life fuller by being kind, volunteering, etc. might be good, but how can you make it even more your own? How about embracing life with creative chaos and taking on unconventional projects, experimenting with wild ideas, and allowing yourself to make mistakes? Having a somewhat wild take (while still being reasonable) can make a piece of content stand out.

P.S. Having unique perspectives is great, but often times I hear people are afraid of what others might think. Think of this as an opportunity! Bringing your own unique take can really make you more likeable and enhance your people. Check out this goodie to up your skills as well:

Use AI as an Idea Generator

How much do you rely on AI? For example, if you tell AI to write out your whole blog post or email, you might be creating more slop than you’d like.

Think of AI as an assistant rather than a miracle.

That email you were going to write—could you write out most of it yourself, or just generate a template? Or that blog post—how about using AI to brainstorm some ideas and adding your own unique take?

Here are a few key ideas to become original while still using AI:

1. Brainstorming Ideas: Use AI to generate a list of potential topics, headlines, or subheadings, which you can then refine and develop further. For example, if you’re writing a blog post on the best productivity tips, you might want to prompt the AI with something like, “Please give me a bullet list of 10 unique tips for productivity.” Pick-and-choose from this list and add your own unique spin and ideas for an original piece of content!
2. Organizing Ideas: Have a bunch on your mind but don’t know where to go? Write it all out and then use AI to organize your ideas neatly, just like a good editor would.
3. Adding Your Voice: Make sure your content sounds personal! More on this in the next tip.

Slop No More!

Let’s commit to creating content that reflects our best selves—flaws and all. After all, if everyone used AI without filters, there would be no more unique content. If there’s anything to take away from this post, remember:

• Recognize Slop by Its Signs: Look for repetitive and generic language, lack of original thought, inaccurate information, and poor engagement to identify slop.
• Stop Slop by Adding Value: Ensure your content is unique and engaging by conducting your own research, seeking feedback, and presenting a fresh perspective.
• Use AI as a Tool, Not a Crutch: Leverage AI for brainstorming and organizing ideas, but always infuse your unique voice and rigorously review and edit to maintain quality.

In the end, it’s all about being creative! Want to boost your creativity? We’ve got you covered: How to Be More Creative at Work, With Sarah Moyle