The Merriam-Webster dictionary recently announced that "slop" has been chosen as the word of the year for 2025, reflecting the large amount of low-quality content generated by artificial intelligence on the internet over the past year. The definition of "slop" in the dictionary is "low-quality digital content typically generated in large quantities by artificial intelligence," a concept that vividly depicts AI works commonly seen on social media and online spaces.

The dictionary's explanation points out that the word "slop" carries an unpleasant "wet" texture, similar to "slime," "sludge," and "muck." It effectively conveys the characteristic of content that is unwanted yet omnipresent. In this era of anxiety about AI, Merriam-Webster believes that "slop" is not only a direct description of low-quality content but also a sarcastic expression that reflects people's complex feelings towards technology. Greg Barlow, president of Merriam-Webster, said in an interview that the word is closely related to AI technology that is changing the world, reflecting people's complex emotions toward this technology, which are both fascinated and annoyed.

Over the past year, "slop" has frequently appeared in various reports and commentaries, describing how AI content generation tools like OpenAI's Sora and Google Gemini's Veo are changing the internet ecosystem. These new-generation media generation tools are mass-producing books, podcasts, popular songs, advertisements, and even entire movies. Research shows that about 75% of the online content generated in the last month is related to AI.

At the same time, the emerging "slop economy" is rapidly rising, with platforms accumulating AI-generated content to generate advertising revenue, forming a profit model based on low-quality information. Critics worry that this trend may further divide digital communities, separating users into those who can afford high-quality content and those who can only accept free "slop," who often lack in information value and authenticity.

The use of the term "slop" is not limited to the media consumption field; it is widely used to describe the impact of AI on areas such as legal documents, cybersecurity reports, and university papers. In these fields, AI-generated content that is quickly assembled faces challenges in quality, affecting professional judgment and academic integrity.

Notably, this year, multiple dictionaries have shown interest in technology-related words in their "word of the year" selections. The Macquarie Dictionary in Australia chose "AI slop" as its word of the year before Merriam-Webster, while Oxford Dictionary selected "ragebait," and Collins Dictionary chose "vibe coding." These all reflect that topics such as AI, algorithmic content, and emotional manipulation have become important themes in public discourse today.