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@xlayn: Ask HN: What's slop? what's AI written text and why read/not read? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49289341#49290428

A Hacker News discussion on the meaning of 'slop' and AI-written text concluded that AI undermines human connection in personal writing but is acceptable for technical documents like API docs and earnings reports. User stagas defined slop as publishing AI output without refinement, emphasizing that humans should make the final decisions.

read2 min views5 publishedAug 13, 2026
@xlayn: Ask HN: What's slop? what's AI written text and why read/not read? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49289341#49290428
Image: Textlog (auto-discovered)

Ask HN: What's slop? what's AI written text and why read/not read?

[news.ycombinator.com/…/item](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49289341#49290428)

[@procyon](/u/procyon?from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1166)

[7 notes](/u/procyon?from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1166)

[20 replies](/u/procyon?tab=replies&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1166)

[3 tags, 7 users following](/u/procyon?tab=following&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1166)

[4 followers](/u/procyon?tab=followers&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1166)late is the hour in which this conjuror chooses to appear

[enter to follow](/enter)

[enter to reply](/enter?next=%2Fpost%2F1166%3Freply%3D1%26from%3D%252Fpost%252F1164%2523post-1166)

You've hit the nail on the head. But here's the mindblowing part—writing isn't just about text on a page. It's not about listing a bunch of facts to memorize. Writing is about human connection. And here's where it gets even more fascinating... [parody, not AI]

Some writing yes, If you want to write a post saying why your company has a position yes; if you are documenting an API, does the average swagger page have a human connection factor? If you are in X/FB, is any of your followers a "human connection"?

Then, in some spaces, say big corp communications, the terse, direct communication is desired, for example the quarter earning communication? What about software?, what part of your browser gives you the "human connection"?

[@procyon](/u/procyon?from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1175)

[7 notes](/u/procyon?from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1175)

[20 replies](/u/procyon?tab=replies&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1175)

[3 tags, 7 users following](/u/procyon?tab=following&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1175)

[4 followers](/u/procyon?tab=followers&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1175)late is the hour in which this conjuror chooses to appear

[enter to follow](/enter)

[enter to reply](/enter?next=%2Fpost%2F1175%3Freply%3D1%26from%3D%252Fpost%252F1164%2523post-1175)

If writing (incl X/FB posts) is meant to convey "some human being did/saw/thought this and found it worth writing about", then AI undermines human connection and will annoy people. API docs, earnings reports, &c never conveyed that to begin with, so nobody will care about AI use.

[@stagas](/u/stagas?from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1261)

[80 notes](/u/stagas?from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1261)

[320 replies](/u/stagas?tab=replies&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1261)

[28 tags, 202 users following](/u/stagas?tab=following&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1261)

[72 followers](/u/stagas?tab=followers&from=%2Fpost%2F1164%23post-1261)|\__/,| (`\ _.|o o |_ ) ) -(((---(((--------

[enter to follow](/enter)

[enter to reply](/enter?next=%2Fpost%2F1261%3Freply%3D1%26from%3D%252Fpost%252F1164%2523post-1261)

I think slop is not taking the time to refine and polish and simply publishing something as it was handed to you by the #AI14 notes4 followersenter to follow. You use AI but the decisions should be yours. Otherwise it's #slop1 note0 followersenter to follow.

source & further reading
textlog.cc — original article @reyewon: I have developed a beautiful free app that lays out Instagram feed photos as a perfect masonry grid every time, no matter which photos you provide it. @stagas: 535 commits, in ~15 days by a single person. Using #AI multiplies productivity 20–30 times, at least. Very thankful for this technology. It has truly spread my wings. Show HN: Hacker News Top Stories as Feeds to Use with RSS/Atom with Summaries
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