Social media has never been lauded for realism, but online deceit is reaching a fever pitch.
Since the inception of platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, aspirational content has flooded our feeds with too-perfect bodies, homes and lifestyles. Despite the supposed aim of social media to keep us connected, going online increasingly feels isolating and detached from reality. AI slop and deepfakes are making it infinitely worse.
The emergence of generative AI tools like OpenAI's Sora, Google's Veo and Midjourney has facilitated the creation of videos that are all at once extraordinary, imaginative and deceptive. Suddenly, a simple text prompt can conjure anything you think up. It's a technological marvel, and, oftentimes, an ethical nightmare.
AI slop refers to the endless barrage of low-quality digital content created with artificial intelligence. You've likely seen examples of this on your social media feeds, from videos of animals exhibiting oddly human characteristics to pranks and gags that seem to defy the laws of physics. In addition, deepfakes of public figures, both alive and dead, saying and doing things that never actually happened have become a hot -- and contentious -- commodity.
It's not just shoddy AI that's diminishing the online experience. Filtering through more convincing fabrications of people, places and events demands more vigilance than ever, and it's utterly exhausting.
From human connection to platform addiction
Ever since the rollout of OpenAI's Sora app in September, I've wondered why anyone would want to scroll through a feed made up solely of artificial moments. Even more "traditional" social platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become inundated with AI content that seemingly serves no real purpose, beyond demonstrating the astonishingly lifelike imagery that AI tools can now conjure in an instant.
Isn't the point of social media to stay in touch with people you know and to follow public figures that interest you? Is that foundational objective officially dead?
"The cynical answer is that social media is now aimed at keeping you connected to the tool, rather than to each other," said Alexios Mantzarlis, director of Cornell Tech's Security, Trust and Safety Initiative.
Tech giants are "making their stock price go up" by showing off their AI capabilities, he said, but "it's coming at the expense of the experience on these platforms."
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