Regardless of how cheap it is to produce, there is a nonzero marginal cost of production. So, slop that generates zero revenue is self-correcting. 

There will be a vast middle ground though of slop that does generate some positive revenue. 

Undisciplined

SimpleStacker

> But [the] key word above is “thoughtful.”

Yes, but then:

> The explosion of content raises the bar for everyone to be more conscious in your media consumption.

I'd say that it just pushes the lies to such extremes, that you have no choice but to stop being a consumer of narrative.

optimism

But I think value is relative. If people are curious to read the posts I just pen off the top of my head, who’s to say that my low-effort posts are of low value to others?

cryotosensei

The Internet lowered the cost of publishing to virtually zero, which enabled many low-quality blogs and other web sites. Social media made it trivial to put thoughts online, and made it much easier to find an audience, which enabled a vast amount more low-effort and low-quality posting. Now AI is arriving, and lowering the costs of creation itself, not just publication and audience-building. And it is enabling new and different forms of slop.

I agree with Crawford's opinion of slop here: yes, it is largely pointless and unpleasant, but so were many blogs. The fact that most people will use a tool badly to produce uninteresting products is not a reason to fear the tool, especially because there will be some people who use the tool to create wonderful things.

> The Internet lowered the cost of publishing to virtually zero, which enabled many low-quality blogs and other web sites. Social media made it trivial to put thoughts online, and made it much easier to find an audience, which enabled a vast amount more low-effort and low-quality posting. Now AI is arriving, and lowering the costs of creation itself, not just publication and audience-building. And it is enabling new and different forms of slop.
> 
> - More experimentation. 
> - Removal of the gatekeepers. 
> - More chance for people to make a start. 
> - More runway for works to find their audience. 
> - More content for niche audiences. 
> - More diversity of content and format. 
> - Freedom from the tyranny of finance. 

I agree with Crawford's opinion of slop here: yes, it is largely pointless and unpleasant, but so were many blogs. The fact that most people will use a tool badly to produce uninteresting products is not a reason to fear the tool, especially because there will be some people who use the tool to create wonderful things.