Hello, and welcome to August, the month when the news is supposed to slow down. Apparently, nobody told the AI models.
And if you’re wondering if AI wrote that sentence, more below on what I call AI Slop Vibes™ and my testing of AI detectors.
Also, HBO goes vertical, OpenAI responds to Apple, Casio puts a watch on a ring and some tech glasses even the haters will love. 🕶️
🚨In other news, we have just launched on Spotify. Follow our show there! 🚨
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I wasn’t really annoyed by AI slop until a few weeks ago. I received feedback from a company I was working with, read the first few lines and immediately knew:
A HUMAN DID NOT WRITE THIS.
A HUMAN DID NOT EDIT THIS.
A HUMAN DID NOT THINK ABOUT THIS.
HI. HELLO? IS SOMEONE THERE?
I can mostly avoid the AI slop videos, images and posts on social media. (Thanks to LinkedIn, I can even tap the shiny new “AI slop” reporting button.) I can avoid the AI slop versions of my book, too.
But when we’re communicating directly—working together on an actual thing—I can’t always avoid it. The generic phrasing, directness, pretentious throat-clearing and polished nothingness of AI writing that lands in my inbox from clients, business partners and readers can’t just be deleted.
That left me with an even bigger problem: How could I prove it? I told my colleagues I was certain the feedback came from AI. They politely nodded, the universal company expression for “OK, let’s let Joanna be mad about this thing for a bit.”
I wanted proof. Sadly, definitive proof is hard to find in the deep, dark pits of AI slop. What we do have are AI Slop Vibes™ and a handful of AI detectors that can help us sniff them out. Here are the best ones.
Fun fact: OpenAI is aiming to have 8,000 employees by the end of 2026, according to the Financial Times. Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI states that more than 400 OpenAI employees previously worked at Apple. That would make roughly 5% of OpenAI employees former Apple workers. Not insignificant.
This newsletter was written and curated by Joanna Stern and Adele Lowitz.
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