How LinkedIn became the AI-slop punching bag

Media Mechanics

Self-publishing platform Substack is taking shots at its own users — and LinkedIn, the social media site known for well-manicured career announcements, has become its punching bag. 

Has the internet reached peak AI slop? And are new efforts from tech firms that once embraced our AI overlords doing enough to stop a full-blown AI slopageddon? At the center of it all is Silicon Valley’s latest buzzword: authenticity. 

Last week, Substack rolled out a new partnership with AI text detection company Pangram to eradicate low-quality, AI-generated writing from its platform — or to at least provide transparency to readers. The announcement comes after Pangram research crowned LinkedIn “the most AI-saturated platform” on the web. 

“We’re sick of slop and we don’t want substack to turn into LinkedIn,” Chris Best, Substack’s co-founder and CEO, wrote on X.

Prioritizing authenticity over raw engagement, social media companies are going to war with AI-generated posts, bot accounts and low-quality engagement farming. For years, content moderation has centered on countering disinformation and preventing harm to users, such as cyberbullying. Now, companies are shifting their focus from moderating what people say online to policing who — or what — is saying it. 

Will the latest efforts make the internet a better place for humans, or are they just a drop in the bucket? 

Thanks for reading. I’ll catch you here again next week. — Mark