Welcome to episode 109 of the AI for Technical Writers podcast from Curt Robbins. This educational content is designed to give IT professionals and technical writers a competitive edge.
This episode reviews a recent article by Arwa Mahdawi entitled "AI-generated ‘Slop’ is Slowly Killing the Internet, so Why is Nobody Trying to Stop It?
Mahdawi argues that low-quality, AI-generated content, which she refers to as "slop," is overwhelming the internet and displacing human-created material. She criticizes major platforms like Facebook for not only failing to regulate this content, but also actively encouraging it (in some cases by boosting it through algorithms or creating their own AI characters).
This proliferation of AI slop is presented as an acceleration of the "enshittification" of the internet, with the author citing examples such as AI-generated LinkedIn posts and bizarre images like "Shrimp Jesus" found on social media. Ultimately, the article expresses concern about the future of online content as AI-generated material increasingly crowds out genuine human voices.
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"It will not be AI that takes away the job of a technical writer, but rather another technical writer with deep AI skills," said Robbins.
I am currently taking on new clients. I enjoy helping companies with their documentation and communications strategy and implementation. Contact me to learn about my reasonable rates and fast turnaround. — Curt
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>> View the original Mahdawi article: https://tinyurl.com/yc7p9zp4
>> Read the Robbins article "Yale Study: Impact of AI on the Job Market": https://tinyurl.com/f3cuvvxn
>> Read the Robbins article "Why Large Language Models are Changing the World": https://tinyurl.com/bdfv63ca
>> Read the Robbins article "Understanding Anthropic: Rising Star in AI": https://tinyurl.com/46btw22z
>> Read the Robbins article "Comparing ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, & Grok": https://tinyurl.com/3zwttxhk
>> Read the Robbins article "AI Job Replacement Fears Are Good. Here's Why.": https://tinyurl.com/p5t27t7d
>> Join the LinkedIn group Technical Writing Success: https://tinyurl.com/mr28u7td
>> Subscribe to the Technical Writing Success podcast: https://tinyurl.com/uu9hpyzt