AI Slop Isn’t a Tech Problem, it’s a U (and) I Problem

17-year-old me would allow my classmates to copy my homework, and even exam prep.

For subjects that I enjoyed - History, Literature, General Paper - I would take great pleasure in writing up comprehensive notes. Mapping out concepts, drawing neat tables, colour coding different themes. I used orange paper for my notes because I read that it helped memory retention.

A silly bunch of my classmates would then ask to copy them, whether by hand or using the school photocopier.

And then there were subjects that I didn’t enjoy - Chinese Language, and in Junior College, the dreaded C Math. What did C even stand for?

In the comprehension section of my Chinese papers, I often committed the cardinal sin of copying the entire first paragraph to answer the first question. Second paragraph for the second question, and so on. Needless to say, it was a disaster. It’s a miracle that I even passed the subject, and I’m sure my Chinese teacher was overjoyed too when I no longer needed to sit in her class to retake the A-Level paper.

The Illusion of Progress

Is it better to copy your homework or not do it at all?

As a one-time teacher, I probably would have preferred the latter. At least it would still signal some integrity.

And if the goal is to actually learn, I’m starting to remember that the mindless act of copying serves very little purpose if the actual intention is to build new neural connections.

That is my issue with the proliferation of GenAI in the workplace.

Just yesterday, I was bombarded with AI-written content in every scroll downwards on LinkedIn.

Is it because it’s badly written? No, not at all. The writing ability of these platforms comes from vast datasets of real human writing - so no, it’s not bad writing.

The issue is not even that everyone is now sounding the same (I do mourn the loss of personality, though).

My main concern is that people are mindlessly communicating without thinking. We’ve cut out the brainwork in so much of how we communicate online these days.

Even worse, I’ve witnessed individuals mistake AI’s brilliance as their own deep thinking - without the strategic thought to follow through. This has come in the form of entire whitepapers ostensibly drafted by an individual, with proud declarations that it was done painstakingly, only to reveal an entire page of fake citations. When tested with some logical thinking and fact-checking, the rest of the paper fell apart too.

I’ve seen professionals paralysed in sending emails and even happy birthday WhatsApp messages if they don’t run them through ChatGPT first.

I began to wonder: How did we ever survive before ChatGPT helped us write emails?

But we did, didn’t we?

AI is My Friend

If I were to chart my relationship with platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity over the last three years, it’d look a little like:

• 2023: Skepticism with a healthy dose of intrigue

• 2024: Increased experimentation, categorising different platforms based on their strengths, and integration into my workflow

• 2025: Great appreciation, but a worried observer of the decline of man’s ability to think

In 2024, I built custom GPTs and experimented with lots of priming, lots of prompting, lots of pondering. I still use these custom GPTs today for a lot of my work - but not for writing.

I can completely understand the allure of doing so. Feeling more confident in communicating if you struggled before (and let’s face it, communicating well is one of the hardest skills to master).

But that is exactly why we cannot fall back on AI for this very skill; we have to practice and hone it.

I don’t use it for writing for two reasons. It just cannot capture the intangible essence of an individual’s voice (for now), but mainly because it takes away the opportunity to learn by thinking.

That being said, in my personal life, I’ve used it to suggest recipes based on what ingredients I have in the fridge, and plan my workout schedule. A much-appreciated help when I’m overstimulated or uninspired.

A Slow Road to Being an Above-Average Amateur Video Editor

Writing is my job, so I might be missing the viewpoint of those who do not do this for a living.

So I looked at other skillsets. I’ve been working on improving my video editing skills.

While there are many AI-powered video creation tools out there, I’ve stubbornly refused to throw my video clips and one-line prompt into the nether and sit back like a boss.

This means I take much longer than other amateurs to produce a one-minute video clip. But it has helped me learn so much about the features of video editing software, how to capture better footage, how to plan ahead for shoots (and go with the flow when you don’t have the ideal footage), apply overlays and voiceovers - so much more. And you know what, it’s fun.

And I feel proud of what I produce, not because it’s awesome but because I worked hard at it.

Something that would not be the case at all if I had left it all to AI.

Not Anti-AI, Just Pro-Human

My classmates copied my History and Literature notes, and went on to build successful careers as pilots, in physical education, and in finance.

I passed my Chinese exam, but get put to shame by a 7-year-old today.

So when professionals overuse AI to think and act for them in their own domain, what expertise are they building?

In five years, what would they have actually learnt? Or did they just pass as good enough in the moment?

I'm not suggesting we abandon AI - far from it. But perhaps we need to be more intentional about when we use it. Use it to handle the mundane, to spark ideas, to save time on tasks. But when it comes to building your actual professional capabilities? That's where the hard work - your work - still matters.