The rough and tumble world of digital trends has amped up the speed at which things move. When you think of the tech advancements made over the past several decades, starting with the emergence of the world wide web, the list of true game-changers is mind-numbing.
If you consider this question – “Will it change everything?” – it’s a good one in which to not just pressure-test new innovations but also societal changes particularly the period during and after the pandemic. By the way, I think you could answer with a resounding “YES” when you think about this list, all of which represent emerging technology from just this millennium:
- The iPod
- The iPhone (+ apps)
- Audio and video streaming
- Social media
- Podcasts
- Connected cars
- Virtual meetings
- Work from home
- Ride sharing/delivery services
- AI
Bubbling under is autonomous driving, voice technology, electrification of cars, truck, bikes and other vehicles.
Of course, I’m staying above the surface, thinking about the world with my media hat on. A true map of the landscape would include advanced technologies from genetics to clean energy to space exploration.
While some of these advancements required years of evolution and different usage patterns, others emerged quickly and with near instant reactions from many different societal corners, including business, medicine, enertainment, and other major sectors.
It’s hard not to think about Artificial Intelligence, and its meteoric growth over less than four years since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT. We haven’t been the same since. AI has impacted nearly all aspects our lives – our jobs, the devices we use, and the ways in which we are sold and marketed goods and services.
You might make the argue that social media’s effects have been just as expansive. But the fact is, it has taken years for social technologies to take shape, also driven by hte fact that most people didn’t see it coming. At first, Facebook was a way to reacquaint with friends from school. Back then, most people didn’t realize that on Facebook, Twitter, and the like, we are the product these platform use for marketing and advertising services. In addition, it has taken regulators well over a decade to get their governmental arms around social media. And you could make a convincing case they still haven’t come up with adequate safeguards and regulations.
Contrast that with the media explosion that occurred when ChatGPT was unleashed in November, 2022. Immediately, the gloom and doomers emerged to warn against the effects of this technology on society. And of course, some of the most cautionary were tech execs at the helm of AI platforms, including Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
Against that backdrop, most citizens of the world rapidly began forming opinions and perceptions of AI, some from experience, but many others formed from communication within various groups and communities. We started asking extensive questions about the technology, including attitudes about music produced by AI. But the more important question seems to revolve around just how alarmed so many consumers are about this technology – even though a fast-growing number of core radio listeners are using the technology for personal and/or job purposes. We show nearly three in ten (29%) using AI weekly or more often. But in spite of this, familiarity does not appear to breed comfort. The “alarm rate” in this year’s study is essentially unchanged from levels we saw in 2024:
This appears to be manifesting itself as another part of growing anger and mistrust placed right at the feet of the billionnaire class pushing the AI button and moving the levers. Many consumers harbor both vitriiol and the frustration over being out of control. Whether it’s the construction of data centers in local communities or the technology’s perceived impact on jobs, more and more people are discomfitted by how AI appear to be permeating multiple aspects of their lives.
And it seems that with growing frequency, they’re pushing back. I realize it is anecdotal, but I am seeing more social posts featuring people railing over the presence and usage of so-called “AI slop,” roughly defined by Google Gemini (how meta can you get?) as “low-quality, repetitive, or unoriginal digital text, images, audio, or video created in large quantitiesusing generative artificial intelligence with little to no human effort.”
In other words, pretty much everything created by AI – and I use that word carefully because so much of AI content is scraped from somewhere else. So, is the protest about the evils of AI in general? And if that’s the case, I’m afraid those who are feeling angry or disenfranchised by AI ought to think about the farmers and rodeo owners who felt displaced by the car, the assembly line, and the class of rich industrialists who made veritable fortunes from this quantum societal shift.
In fact, the phrase “Industrial Revolution” was coined in 1799, and popularized in the 1880s – right in the heart of the actual period when this tectonic shift occurred. People back then were still surprised by the magnitude of the changes – the impact of working conditions, the emergence of crowded cities and metro area, and other harsh realities ushered in during this fateful period.
Just as many are now.
Not unlike some of these earlier revolutions, AI appears to be generating a great deal of hand-wringing and finger-pointing, without the succinct policies and actions that might lead to less societal tumult. But knowing our government as we do, we shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of proactiity and vision we’re already seeeing.
But what do we make of byproducts of AI besides referring to it as slop? Interestingly, the media as well as influencers seem to relish in pointing out AI errors, as if indications of infalliby somehow render the technology useless. At the center of this controversy is whether society is rejecting AI technology because of the quantum changes it will usher in or whether it’s about pushing back at the billionaire class and the way in which data centers and other outgrowths are being foisted on an American public, and ignoring thier concerns.
To the latter point, “Stop the Slop!” is not only becoming an Internet meme, it is becoming part of the nomenclature. The other day, I ran across the Instagram post below. There are scores of these all over the socialsphere:
View this post on Instagram
OK, now that we have that out of the way, let’s look at a real-life example – this blog. For two years or so, I have worked with various AI engine to create header images for most days’ posts. I have learned hhow to “talk to AI” to usually produce a reasonable facsimile of what I’m looking for. In almost every case, these images are more elaborate and detailed than what I could produce myself as I do not know how to use Photohop and similar programs.
We pay a monthly fee to Shutterstock to purchase images from their massive library. I often look there first before turning to AI as we’re already paying them. But their stock photos and images often come up short especially when looking for a radio-specific or adjacent image. And more and more lately, they are selling AI images they create for other customers.
Lately, some of you have questions why I’m using “AI slop” in this blog. I have receive “Stop AI Slop” comments here and on my socials. Some question why I’m not paying an artist to draw to create these images for me. You may not think it’s relevant, but this blog has operated for 21+ years without generating a dime – it is ad-free and subscription free.
But rather than me trying to rationalize using AI-generated images, what do YOU think? Is the way I’ve used AI imagery slop – or not?
Use the comment section below or my Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
Let’s see what you have to say, and we’ll take it from there.
President & Founder at Jacobs Media
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched – a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created – a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the “connected car” and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media’s commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
