'AI Slop' Crowned Word of the Year 2025
The Macquarie Dictionary has officially declared 'AI slop' as its Word of the Year for 2025, a term that perfectly encapsulates a major shift in our digital landscape. The selection committee, comprising language experts, stated that the word embodies a significant societal change, moving from the era of search engineering to the new age of prompt engineering required to navigate content generated by artificial intelligence.
The Viral Bunny Video That Fooled Millions
The prevalence of AI-generated content was starkly illustrated by a viral video from July, which showed a colony of bunnies apparently jumping for joy on a trampoline. The clip, credited to @rachelthecatlovers on TikTok, amassed a staggering over 200 million views before it was identified as a product of AI, not reality. This incident serves as a prime example of the 'slop' now permeating the internet – content that is eye-catching but ultimately lacks substance or genuine meaning.
Beating the Competition and Defining an Era
'AI slop' triumphed over a formidable shortlist of contenders for the title. These included:
- Ozempic face: A condition linked to the use of semaglutide drugs.
- Blind box: A mystery package containing an unseen collectible.
- Ate (and left no crumbs): An expression praising a flawless performance.
- Roman Empire: A term for a subject one thinks about frequently.
The committee also highlighted honourable mentions such as 'clankers' for AI-driven robots and 'medical misogyny' for prejudice against women in healthcare. In a public vote, 'AI slop' also emerged as the people's choice, with medical misogyny and 'attention economy' receiving honourable mentions.
Cryptic crossword legend David Astle, who was on the selection panel, described AI slop as this decade's equivalent of spam. He noted its versatility, spawning derivatives like 'slopaganda' and 'corpslop'. The influence of this phenomenon is undeniable; it was noted that even former US President Donald Trump regularly shares AI slop with his millions of followers, being dubbed the 'emperor' of such content.
Closer to home, the Australian Electoral Commission has raised alarms about the growing use of AI in communications, warning of the dangers posed by deepfakes and manipulated media. When Guardian Australia asked ChatGPT for its thoughts on the term winning, the AI engine responded that it creates positive pressure for transparency, accuracy, and substance in AI-generated content, a standard it strives to meet with every prompt.
