Lobotomy Lab: Stop the Slop
Lobotomy Lab: Offering piercing insights into photography
Slop seems to be a major talking point on many YouTube channels and online publications since the proliferation of AI image and video generation. And I must agree the vast majority of AI generated content is trash that only seems to appeal to the ignorant, often older people who are out of touch with society and unaware of technology. However I do recall something some have already forgotten. Many people were complaining about “content farms” often referred to as slop a solid year or two before the rise of AI. I think most can agree the two are opposite sides of the same coin.
Let me just address what will likely be an elephant in the room. Is making content about slop in its self slop? Well since I am doing just that I hope not… but I can’t help but suspect a lot of it is. But I feel much of this comes from CONTEXT, something many fail think about or address an any meaningful way. I wish to offer context in this article.
I think one of the real issues is that content with out context or thought has become all too common. Content for the sake of content, that is to say things that ride the coat tails of short lived trends things crafted not for the interest of the audience but to appeal to an algorithm or to try and generate a profit with minimal investment of time or money. These things have always been creeping around but in recent years have become too common.
When Facebook groups post those weird images of deformed cybernetic solders holding signs asking for pity or Jesus made of shrimp or African Children making robots from old plastic bottles, one may ask why? I think that is the correct response, to be suspicious, to demand context that is clearly lacking. Content like this seems to aim to take advantage or shock or invoke some pity, all rely heavily on underlying ignorance an ignorance born from a lack of care. This content is slop regardless of whether it is intended to trick old people or to anger the more observant into leaving a storm of comments pointing out how fake this content is. It is there to elicit some level of interaction to generate income in some way. This is likely a sign of just how much sites like Facebook and Instagram have declined in recent years and surely an indicator of how desperate Mark is to make his ailing media look more robust even if the solution is to convert them into slop oriented content farms.
Despite these scathing criticisms I have seen some AI used for good entertaining purposes. there are a few YouTube channel Turbodong2000 and the Facebook page Celina 52 Diner come to mind. Well aware of their nature I enjoy both throughly and would be willing to call both forms of art.
Turbodong2000 is a YouTube channel that seems to be abandon but used AI to generate satirical American style commercials for popular consumer goods like soda and trucks. While the Celina 52 Diner page relays the tale of a very lowbrow road side diner and the antics of its staff and patrons. Both are pure satire but use AI to create not all too believable images but imagery good enough to get the joke across in a manner that looks passable at a glance.
While these two examples are probably in the minority, I think what they are doing is a reasonable use of AI. Neither intend to be taken as real they are clear parody, but a parody that would be costly and time consuming to reproduce with actors and props. AI allowed these pages to exist where I can not imagine an individual being able to afford production costs that would be even remotely comparable. It also seems few TV programs would be willing to create content such as these two that may anger advertisers. These creators would be left high and dry if not for modern AI programs.
It’s hard to examine all the content farms and AI slop generated by profit seeks and lazy people who mistake a prompt for meaningful art. But There are some people using these same systems for some level of entertainment and doing so with humor and creativity. I do think AI is best left in the realm of entertainment and not education or business. I guess if I have a take away it is that AI might be just what all of our transhuman tech overlords have told us it is; a tool. A weird one, but one that a knowledgeable person with a solid idea can use to create something pretty good. I really don't think AI is the end all be all the tech lords have sold us on. I also don't think the detractors who frequently cite and complain about high cost or excessive electricity and potential lost jobs usage are really going to convince believers to abandon the technology. Yes, some jobs will be lost, but from what I have seen these will generally be very monotonous jobs that are generally of a lower skill level. Sorry to any one who creates ad comp and story boards, but these are pretty simple jobs that are almost always entry level that few end users care about at all.
Should we work to stop the slop? Yes, but it will require work, so some will not be willing put in the effort. I would suggest doing activities that get you away from the computer. I take photos on film but there are many cheaper or easier activities. Grab a knife and some wood and start carving, of just go for a walk. I think these personal activities are both good for the individual partaking in them and may serve to have a knock on effect of getting others off the slop train and into these more traditional pursuits. leading by example is a great way to incite change.
Back to that elephant. I think this article has provided enough insight and thought that no current chatbot could replicate. Is this article on slop its self slop? I don't know. Probably not, it is a written article over 300 words long, so the chances anyone will read it in full are low. That alone does not, not make it slop but I guess it is content which is not a lot better. However I do try to offer a remedy which I think is worth something. So get out and do something away from a computer screen, do something for a friend or family member not for the approval of strangers or a small pay check from a tech firm.