Rafomac News, Tech & Trends That MatterHalf of LinkedIn’s long-form posts might be AI-generated, according to recent data. Chris Best, CEO of Substack, dives into what he calls the growing problem of ‘slop’ online—low-effort content fueled by AI—and how his platform is pushing back to preserve genuine human creativity.
What Is AI Slop and Why Does It Matter?
Chris Best, co-founder and CEO of Substack, has been observing a troubling trend in online content: a surge in what he calls ‘slop’—the kind of content nobody believes in, ranging from spam and clickbait to shallow, AI-generated pieces that flood many platforms.
Best’s concern started as an ordinary internet user, feeling overwhelmed by the growing volume of thoughtless or shallow writing pretending to be meaningful work. But the alarm bells really rang when he encountered research from Pangram, an AI text detection company, showing that as much as 40% of LinkedIn’s long-form content might be fully AI-generated.
While not all AI is slop and not all slop is AI, the sheer scale of AI’s influence on what we read is shifting the digital landscape. “It’s a major change,” Best says. This trend isn’t limited to public platforms; even internal company documents now often show signs of AI authorship, sometimes leaving teams unsure who really wrote or reviewed them.
Substack’s Stand Against the Slop
Substack’s mission is to empower creators to produce thoughtful work they believe in—and get paid for it. Best frames slop as the antithesis of that ideal. The challenge is how to help communities distinguish between meaningful, human-driven expression and low-effort AI text churned out just to game systems or flood comment sections.
Best is clear that Substack isn’t anti-AI. On the contrary, AI offers “new superpowers” to creators. The problem arises when AI is used cynically—for example, generating thousands of viral, mistake-free posts without genuine engagement or care. That floods platforms with noise and forces readers into skepticism, always wondering if what they’re reading is real.
To address this, Substack recently integrated Pangram’s AI text detection tool directly into its app, allowing users to see whether a piece likely passed through a large language model. This doesn’t pass judgment on the quality or effort behind the work—only whether AI played a role in the text generation.
This feature starts a conversation around transparency and intent. It recognizes that authors will use AI in different ways—from lightly assisting with drafts to co-creating ideas—but aims to surface that fact for readers to consider.
Creativity, AI, and Human Intent
Best describes his own writing process with AI as interactive rather than passive. Often, he begins with a long, unfiltered transcript of his thoughts, using AI to refine clarity without diluting his original vision. Some days, AI acts as a co-writer, helping to explore unfinished ideas through multiple drafts. But always, he pushes the AI hard to honor the core message and boldness of his thinking.
This depth contrasts sharply with the low-effort AI content that aims only to flood pages with plausible text. That kind of mass-produced output poses a form of denial-of-service attack on the public square, degrading the quality of discourse and making it harder for readers to discover real insights or connect with authentic voices.
Imagining a Future Beyond Text Detection
Best envisions a future where tools go beyond detecting AI text and begin analyzing the diversity of ideas themselves. He wants a system that maps the broader range of human thought and styles against AI’s more averaged, ‘central’ distribution of ideas. The goal: highlight original, diverse perspectives that challenge assumptions and push discourse forward.
A great example for Best is the work of writers like Paul Graham and Naval Ravikant—thinkers whose ideas stick with you, changing how you see the world. Substack aims to reward and surface those kinds of viral, impactful ideas instead of drowning them in a sea of generic content.
Video, Community, and New Norms for AI Use
While much of the conversation focuses on AI text, video is already becoming a key battleground. Substack’s inclusion of video offers a form of proof of effort—when creators upload videos, it’s harder to fake genuine human presence. However, Best worries that as AI-generated video improves, the same challenges will arise. Will AI avatars replace real conversations? What norms will emerge around transparency and consent?
Best points out that the key tension revolves around human attention—the last scarce resource online—and how creators can earn that attention meaningfully. Using AI responsibly means acknowledging intent, effort, and interaction, preserving those human-to-human sparks that make public spaces vibrant and rich.
Starting the Conversation, Not Dictating the Rules
Substack’s approach isn’t about policing tool use or banning AI. Instead, it’s about starting a transparent dialogue among creators and readers about value, authenticity, and quality. Best welcomes a broad range of perspectives—from those wary of AI to those pushing its frontier—to collectively shape a “new norm” for content creation.
His hope: to create a virtuous cycle where thoughtful AI use enhances, rather than replaces, human creativity; where real ideas gain traction; and where the digital public square remains a place for rich, evolving conversations that stick with us long after the words are read.
In a world flooded with AI-generated noise, preserving what’s real feels more urgent than ever.
