"We define slop as 'digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence,' said Merriam Webster, the leading US producer of language reference works. Among the examples of AI slop given by the publisher were: 'absurd' videos 'off-kilter' advertising images 'cheesy' propaganda 'junky' AI-written books fake news 'that looks pretty real' lots of talking cats 'People found it annoying, and people ate it up,' Merriam Webster said."
"Why did Merriam-Webster choose 'slop' as its Word of the Year? The publisher highlighted the word as a celebration of the fact that, at present, the power of AI is not unlimited. 'In 2025, amid all the talk about AI threats, slop set a tone that's less fearful, more mocking. The word sends a little message to AI: when it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes you don't seem too superintelligent,' it said."
Merriam-Webster selected 'slop' as the 2025 Word of the Year to capture the surge of low-quality digital material generated by artificial intelligence. The term originally meant 'soft mud' in the 1700s, shifted to food waste like 'pig slop' in the 1800s, and later came to mean 'rubbish' or 'a product of little or no value.' The publisher defines slop as digital content of low quality produced usually in quantity by AI. Examples include absurd videos, off-kilter ads, cheesy propaganda, junky AI books, fake news that looks real, and viral talking-cat content. The choice conveys a mocking, less fearful view of AI's creative limits.
Read at www.dw.com
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