Merriam-Webster Names 'Slop' as 2025 Word of the Year for AI-Generated Content
By
Emma Roth
FeedBagel synthesis
· 2 sourcesThe American Dialect Society and Merriam-Webster have both named "slop" as the 2025 Word of the Year, defining it as low-quality digital content produced in large quantities by artificial intelligence. The American Dialect Society selected the term during a vote of over 300 attendees at its 36th annual meeting, noting that "slop" could now stand on its own without the "AI" prefix, according to Hacker News. The Verge reported that while platforms like YouTube and Wikipedia are taking steps to combat AI slop, companies such as Meta and OpenAI are embracing the trend with dedicated AI-generated video apps.
Plain bagel done well. Pleasantly substantive.
Summary
Merriam-Webster has selected 'slop' as its 2025 Word of the Year, defining it as low-quality digital content produced in quantity by artificial intelligence. The article notes that while some major platforms like YouTube, Wikipedia, Spotify, and Pinterest are taking steps to combat AI slop, other companies like Meta and OpenAI are embracing it with dedicated AI-generated video apps.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledMerriam-Webster has settled on a word that represents 2025 — and that word is 'slop.'
The dictionary-maker defines 'slop' as 'digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence'
This year, some of the most popular sites on the web took steps to stave off the infestation of AI slop, including YouTube, Wikipedia, Spotify, and Pinterest.
But others are embracing it, as both Meta and OpenAI made apps dedicated to streams of AI-generated videos
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