You can see it on X. You can see on Instagram. It’s flooding community pages on Facebook and filling up channels on YouTube. It’s called “AI slop” and it’s the fastest, laziest way to drive engagement.Like “click bait” before it (“You won’t believe what happens next,” reads the trickster headline), AI slop can be understood as the latest online tactic in getting eyeballs, clicks, shares, comments, and views. With this go-around, however, the methodology is turbocharged with generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and MetaAI, which can all churn out endless waves of images and text with little restrictions.To rack up millions of views, a “fall aesthetic” account on X might post an&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/fallaesthetic0/status/1838554530788581509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1838907997709361454%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Fculture%2F378855%2Fai-slop-fall-autumn-inspiration-vibes-pinterest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AI-generated image of a candle-lit café table overlooking a rainy, romantic street</a>. Or, perhaps, to make a quick buck, an author might “write” and publish an entirely AI generated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2024/07/27/ai-cookbook-author/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">crockpot cookbook</a>—they may even use AI to write the&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Matthew_Kupfer/status/1769915635197223176/photo/1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">glowing reviews on Amazon</a>. Or, to sway public opinion, a social media account may post an AI-generated image of a child stranded during a flood with the caption “Our government has failed us again.”There is, currently, another key characteristic to AI slop online, and that is its low quality. The dreamy, Vaseline sheen produced by many AI image generators is easy (for most people) to spot, and common mistakes in small details abound: stoves have nine burners, curtains hang on nothing, and human hands sometimes come with extra fingers.But little of that has mattered, as AI slop has continued to slosh about online.There are AI-generated children’s books being advertised relentlessly on the Amazon Kindle store. There are unachievable AI-generated crochet designs flooding Reddit. There is an Instagram account described as “Austin’s #1 restaurant” that only posts AI-generated images of fanciful food, like Moo Deng croissants, and Pikachu ravioli, and Obi-Wan Canoli. There’s the entire phenomenon on Facebook that is now known only as “Shrimp Jesus.”If none of this is making much sense, you’ve come to the right place.Today, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we’re speaking with Malwarebytes Labs Editor-in-Chief Anna Brading and ThreatDown Cybersecurity Evangelist Mark Stockley about AI slop—where it’s headed, what the consequences are, and whether anywhere is safe from its influence.Tune in today. You can also find us on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lock-and-code/id1500049667" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3VB1MCXNk76TSddNNZcDuo?si=b454MPzCTYWvvS5bOPdxcA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2xvY2thbmRjb2RlL2ZlZWQueG1s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a>, plus whatever preferred podcast platform you use.For all our cybersecurity coverage, visit Malwarebytes Labs at <a href="https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">malwarebytes.com/blog</a>.Show notes and credits:Intro Music: “Spellbound” by Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a>Outro Music: “Good God” by Wowa (unminus.com)Listen up—Malwarebytes doesn't just talk cybersecurity, we provide it.Protect yourself from online attacks that threaten your identity, your files, your system, and your financial well-being with our <a href="https://try.malwarebytes.com/lockandcode/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">exclusive offer for Malwarebytes Premium for Lock and Code listeners</a>.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

Is nowhere safe from AI slop?

Lock and Code

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews