One Tech Tip: Fed up with AI slop? A few platforms will let you dial it down

AI slop seems to be everywhere. Low-quality digital content made with artificial intelligence has flooded our feeds, screens and speakers. Is there anything we can do about it?

If you want fewer cartoonish videos of dead celebrities, creepy or absurd images or fake bands playing synthetic tunes, a few platforms have rolled out settings and features to help minimize AI-generated content.

Here is a guide on how to use them. But first, a caveat from Henry Ajder, who advises businesses and governments on AI and has been studying deepfakes since 2018. He warned that it's ''incredibly difficult'' to entirely remove AI slop content entirely from all your feeds.

He compared AI slop to the smog generated from the industrial revolution, when there weren't any pollution controls in place.

''It's going to be very, very hard for people to avoid inhaling, in this analogy.''

Pinterest

Pinterest's move to lean into the AI boom made it something of a poster child for the AI slop problem, as user complained that the online moodboard for pinning inspirational material by themes has become overrun with AI content.

It rolled out first on Android and desktop operating systems, before starting on a more gradual roll out on iOS.

''Now, users can dial down the AI and add more of a human touch,'' Pinterest said, adding that it would initially cover some categories that are ''highly prone to AI modification or generation'' such as beauty, art, fashion and home decor.

More categories have since been added, including architecture, art, beauty, entertainment, men's, women's and children's fashion, health, home décor, and sport, food and drink.

To use the tuner, go to Settings and then to ''refine your recommendations.'' and then tap on GenAI interests, where you can use toggles to indicate the categories you'd like to see less AI-content.

TikTok

TikTok said in November it was testing an update to give users more control of the AI-generated content in their For You feeds. It's not clear when it will be widely available. TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.

To see if you have it on the TikTok mobile app, go to Settings, then Content Preferences, then to Manage Topics where you'll see a set of sliders to control various types of content, such as dance, humor, lifestyle and nature.

You can also access the controls from the For You feed, by tapping the Share button on the side of a post, then tap Why this Video, then Adjust your For You, and then Manage topics.

There should be a new slider that allows you to dial down — or turn up — the amount of AI-generated content that you receive. If you don't see it yet, it might be because you haven't received the update yet. TikTok said late last year that it would start testing the feature in coming weeks.

These controls are not available on the desktop browser interface.

''This means that people who love AI-generated history content can see more of this content, while those who'd rather see less can choose to dial things down,'' it said.

Deezer

Song generation tools like Suno and Udio let users create music merely by typing some ideas into a chatbot window. Anyone can use them to spit out polished pop songs, but it also means streaming services have been flooded with AI tunes, often by accounts masquerading as real artists.

Among the music streaming platforms, only Deezer, a smaller European-based player, gives listeners a way to tell them apart by labeling songs as AI.

''Deezer has been really, really pushing the anti-AI generation music narrative,'' said Henry Ajder.

Change your platform

If you can tear yourself away from Big Tech platforms, there are a new generation of apps targeting users who want to avoid AI.

Cara is a portfolio-sharing platform for artists that bans AI-generated work. Pixelfed is an ad-free Instagram rival where users can join different servers, or communities, including one for art that does not allow AI-generated content. Spread is a new social media platform with content for people who want to ''access human ideas'' and ''escape the flood of AI slop.''

Watch out for the upcoming launch of diVine, a reboot of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's defunct short form video app Vine. The app has only been available as a limited prerelease for Apple iOS. It promises ''No AI Slop'' and uses multiple approaches to detect AI. An Android beta app is expected soon. The company plans to launch it in app stores soon but needs more time to get ready for unexpectedly high demand.

___