By Jack Guy, CNN
(CNN) — “Slop,” a term used to describe low-quality digital content, has been named word of the year by the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
The dictionary defines slop as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” A statement from Merriam-Webster cites examples such as absurd videos, talking cats and AI-written books.
Merriam-Webster is the latest in a string of dictionaries to choose words of the year based on our relationship with technology and artificial intelligence. Collins’ word of the year “vibe coding,” Cambridge’s “parasocial” and Oxford’s “rage bait” all reflect contemporary concerns about the effects of tech on our lives.
First used in the 1700s to mean “soft mud,” “slop” then came to mean “food waste” in the 1800s before taking on a more general meaning of “rubbish” or “a product of little or no value,” according to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Merriam-Webster’s statement acknowledges that slop in the modern day divides opinions.
“People found it annoying, and people ate it up,” reads the statement, which goes on to discuss the almost mocking tone behind the term.
“The word sends a little message to AI: when it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes you don’t seem too superintelligent,” it reads.
Other candidates for word of the year included “gerrymander,” meaning “to divide a state, school district, etc. into political units or election districts that give one group or political party an unfair advantage,” which came to the fore in the United States this year as both Republican and Democrat politicians used redistricting to gain political advantage.
Editors also considered choosing the phrase “touch grass,” which means “to participate in normal activities in the real world especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions.”
While it was previously used as an insult against those perceived to be spending too much time online, the phrase became “something of an aspiration” this year as an increasing number of people took steps to reduce their screen time, said Merriam-Webster’s statement.
Another candidate was “performative,” which the dictionary defines as “made or done for show (as to bolster one’s own image or make a positive impression on others).”
While many things have been described as performative, the most common uses include the idea of a “performative male,” or a man who tries to attract women by doing things that he believes they will like, such as “carrying feminist literature in a tote bag,” said Merriam-Webster.
Last year, the dictionary chose “polarization” as its word of the year, meaning “division into two sharply distinct opposites,” which was heavily used to describe the fraught state of American politics and society.
In 2023, the dictionary chose “authentic” as its word of the year, following a “substantial increase” in online searches for the word thanks to “stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.”
The-CNN-Wire
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