Opslop and hallucidata; outsourcing motherhood; listening to Kindle Unlimited: Newsletter 28 October 2026
Newsletter 174. We need more words for slop (slopaganda? thinkfluff?). Plus, writers sue Meta one-by-one, Marissa Mayer asks AI what makes her daughter special, three people to follow, and three books to read.
A taxonomy of slop
AI-generated slop is undermining our ability to think. It’s easy to create, often fake, and mind-numbingly hard to parse. If you write, please write, don’t outsource your writing to a soulless machine.
Regrettably, slop has now pervaded many of the environments where text lives. The simple term “slop” is insufficient to describe this diversity of effluent. I’m here to help. So I’ve created a lexicon of terms you can use for specific flavors of slop in different contexts, with an example of each one. If we’re going to talk shop about slop, let’s be specific!
Opslop (operational slop). What happens when you outsource ordinary communication like email or Slack threads to AI. Operational slop appears to describe what your colleagues should do but upon further scrutiny is inscrutable.
Please ensure that all relevant stakeholders are aligned around the updated workflow parameters and proactively leverage existing communication channels to facilitate seamless execution of next steps.
Chiefchaff. Memos from the CEO and other executives that are intended to inspire but, because of a lack of content, only confuse. When delivered by middle management, more precisely described as bosspew.
As we lean into our shared journey of transformational excellence, I challenge each of you to bring your authentic selves, embrace a growth mindset, and take radical ownership of unlocking the limitless potential that will propel our collective success to unprecedented heights.
Hallucidata. Made up, spurious statistics.
According to a groundbreaking 2026 Stanford-McKinsey study, 87.3% of high-performing executives who adopted AI-powered productivity tools experienced a 64% increase in strategic decision-making efficiency, while organizations leveraging predictive workflow optimization achieved 3.8 times greater innovation velocity than their competitors.
Slopaganda. Vacuous AI-generated political speech or ads of questionable veracity.
While the globalist elites and their media lapdogs continue their relentless assault on our freedoms, hardworking patriots are waking up to the truth, standing strong against the radical communist agenda, and reclaiming the values that made this nation great!
Slopcopy. Meaningless marketing generated by AI. When used in paid placements, known as adblab.
Say goodbye to overwhelm and hello to effortless excellence with ThriveSync, the ultimate all-in-one app that harnesses the power of cutting-edge AI to streamline your life, unlock unprecedented productivity, and empower you to work smarter, dream bigger, and achieve more—all at the tap of a button.
Thinkfluff. Consultant-speak frameworks intended to inspire but based on pure ego. Comes in flavors including strategoop (strategic advice) and trendslop (advice based on imagined, poorly supported trendlines).
To unlock next-generation enterprise value, organizations must embrace our proprietary Tri-Vortex Value Ascension™ framework: Synergize, Hyperfluidify, and Omniscale—a transformational methodology that harmonizes latent strategic potential, converts organizational friction into adaptive momentum, and unleashes exponential opportunity across the enterprise. By operationalizing these three mutually reinforcing imperatives, leadership teams can transcend legacy paradigms and accelerate their journey toward frictionless, future-ready excellence.
Slopaghetti. Rapidly AI-generated spaghetti code that’s impossible to parse or maintain.
These 2,400 lines of Python to perform a task that could have been done in 50, complete with seventeen nested if statements, six functions named process_data_final_v2, hardcoded passwords, variables that changed type halfway through execution, and a try/except block that silently swallowed every error. Changing a single input caused the entire application to collapse into a steaming heap of slopaghetti.
Newspew. Purported journalism that’s AI-generated. If “breaking” news, it’s scoopslop. Often generated automatically by scraping legitimate news articles.
Inflation continues to dominate the economic conversation as consumers, businesses, and policymakers navigate an increasingly complex financial landscape marked by evolving price pressures, shifting spending patterns, and ongoing uncertainty.
Sloppause. AI-generated praise in the form of comments on social media.
Absolutely incredible news! 🎉👏 So well deserved! Your dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment to excellence have truly paid off, and this exciting next chapter is a testament to the amazing impact you continue to make. Can’t wait to see all the incredible things you’ll accomplish in this new role! 🚀💯
Slipperyslop. Slop intended to make people more receptive to slop, intended to drag the entire world into a cesspool of AI-generated blather.
True authenticity isn’t about who writes the words—it’s about the powerful connections those words inspire. By embracing AI as our everyday communication partner, we can move beyond outdated notions of originality and unlock a future where every thought becomes a compelling story, every interaction becomes a meaningful moment, and every voice is amplified to its fullest potential.
Uggh. Gotta take a shower and wash off all the slipperyslop.
If you’re dealing with opslop, chiefchaff, or slopcopy, send it to us and we’ll deconstruct it. Honest. And anonymous.
Disclaimer: All the examples in this post were entirely AI-generated. What’s your excuse? Please don’t narc on me.
News for writers and others who think
Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer needed to figure out what made her daughter unique, so she asked AI. Answer: she is empathetic, creative, and an animal lover. Should we call this fauxfection? Please don’t outsource your relationship with your children to a machine — that way lies madness! (New York Times, gift link).
Writing teacher and thinker John Warner is shocked to reveal that he agrees with AI whisperer Ethan Mollick on the qualities that humans should cultivate: deep knowledge, wide knowledge, taste, and agency. Feed these qualities with reading and writing.
Jonathan Jordan reflects on what he did wrong in his book launch. There are 100 mistakes you can make — but his are worth avoiding.
Hundreds of authors are suing Meta individually, rather than as a class action, for copyright infringement to create AI content. Apparently, a swarm of mosquitos can attempt to take an elephant. (Publisher’s Weekly, subscriber link).
Writers rejoice. Companies (and not just media companies) continue to have openings for human writers. Here’s a list compiled by Noah Greenberg.
Kindle Unlimited now includes audiobooks — provided they’re on Amazon’s platforms, of course.
Three people to follow
Kory Kirby , publishing strategist and design whiz
Waverly Deutsch , tough, smart advisor to startup founders
Tara Joseph , executive communications coach
Three books to read
Strategic Marketing Skills: How to Build Technology-Driven Expertise That Delivers Business Value by Ana Mourão (Kogan Page, 2026). Take your marketing career from tactical skills to strategic excellence.
The Human-Machine Company: Reimagining Businesses in the Age of AI by Lak Ananth and Kevin Maney (Ideapress, 2026). Enduring principles for navigating uncertainty in the age of AI.
You Don’t Need a Smartphone: A Practical Guide to Downgrading Your Phone and Upgrading Your Life by August Lamm (Vintage, 2026). Admit it. You’re curious. How to dump the smartphone and get smarter in the process.