Nowadays, the term "slop" seems to be applied to everything to the point that everything is somehow "slop", regardless if it's so minuscule and not worth getting worked up over. And AI has been one of the big targets for the term. AI slop this, AI slop that, even if it's only 1% or based off AI before recreating traditionally, it's still SLOP. FUCKING SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP.
Anyway, with AI being synonymous with slop, regardless if it's genuine slop or normal looking content, I've always wondered about two things, especially as I've seen and made plenty of content made with AI, both pure and hybrid works:
1. Can slop actually be good?
2. What's an argument in favor, or in defense, of slop?
Personally, I don't mind slop as it's an inevitable part of the creation process, AI or not. It's just that most of it gets discarded. I mean, I've thrown away numerous bad drawings in the bin before (even use as firestarter), so deleting failed images is no different. But sometimes, you get an image that's so bad it's good, and thus you save it and share it.
Another reason is that, sometimes, you just have an idea that's so dumb and ridiculous that you just wanna see it happen. I've done it with traditional art, and I do it with AI now.
But also, sometimes, it's just fun to create slop. I mean, why else did those unhinged SoraAI videos became so popular? The answer is simple. It's unhinged and plain stupid, and I fucking love it. There's simply nothing like it as it became its own unique thing (although I plan to ruin Seedance and Kling to make something just as horrid). I guess the non-AI human made counterpart would be, ironically enough, TikTok. And a platform like that has been a slop content farm long before AI. But I'm willing to admit that I actually liked some of the dumb shit found on TikTok, and SoraAI is no different to that. I just like seeing dumb stuff being made, be it AI or not, because it's fun to see what stupid shit can be made.
If anything, I'd argue that the existence of slop is another part of expression, AI or not, whether you like it or not. A part that expresses stupidity and absurdity instead of fine works and the like. And we've seen our fair share of slop before AI. On Youtube, on Tiktok, on Instagram, on DeviantArt, on Tumblr, on Soundcloud, wherever. And even before the internet, slop content existed. So it wouldn't be fair to shit on AI slop content when plenty of slop existed before that, especially if you've found yourself enjoying slop content before AI. If people enjoy slop content because it brings entertainment, then who am I to judge? Especially if I enjoy slop content myself.
That being said, there is a limit to this. Just as things can peak, things can just as well hit rock bottom. Much of the plain bad content I've seen with AI was either strange fetishes, bad political posts, non-functioning games, incoherent noise or garbles, chatbots being super dumb, and many more examples. Now it may sound counter to what I just said, but the point is some of these are just plain bad, instead of "so bad its good". It's like going on DeviantArt in the 2010's and finding horrid pics that may have been featured on a cringe compilation levels of bad. But at the same time, it's an opinion of mine. And like I said, if people enjoy this, albeit less in comparison to the general public, then who am I to judge, even if I do begin to judge?
Another issue are content farms, and overall bad content being shoved in your face. In these cases, it's mostly to gain money or views, and against your will. Very different from finding a compilation of unhinged SoraAI videos on your free time. And I think this is also what ends up getting "slop" mixed in with terrible content as they're both made from the same source. Like lumping all TikTok content together and calling it trash because it houses both terrible content from content farms and normal content together. And I think it's around this point where the content begins to become objectively bad instead of simply preference. Sure, there may be people that enjoy this somehow, but the numbers are much smaller to counter negative comments that it simply isn't worth it, unless you somehow manage to make it work and make a case for it. Cases like what I'm doing here.
So I ask this question. In defense for AI slop, what would it be?