Why does everything online feel a little … worse?
When AI-generated junk floods the zone, it displaces something real.
If you’ve ever seen a giant orange cat cradling a smaller cat, surviving a plane crash or holding a sign that says ‘I miss my son,’ then you’ve likely already encountered what this week’s guest is an expert in: Slop. (What?!)
Slop, fueled by AI, is that strange, contextless, meme-ish content flooding our feeds. And it’s not random. It’s the output of an attention economy on overdrive and it's filling up the internet with something that feels … off.
This week I talked with Aidan Walker, a researcher, writer and the creator of the Substack, ‘How to Do Things with Memes.’ He coined the term slop capitalism to describe the moment we’re in. One where everyone’s a producer in the digital world in some way, but fewer and fewer of us are connecting in real life.
Aidan takes memes seriously. And he should! They’re art. Artifacts of our time, shaped by us, shared by us -- and now, often, replaced by AI.
When AI-generated junk floods the zone, it displaces something real. The thoughtful stuff. The connective stuff. The weird, human, messy culture that makes the internet feel magical.
If you’ve ever scrolled for an hour and thought what, and why?! -- this one’s for you.
Listen now. ✦
