Jason, Sam, and Blood in the Machine's Brian Merchant discuss how AI slop has taken over the internet, how it is a brute-force attack against the algorithms that control what we see on social media, and what we can do to fight back against it. This panel was held at Speakeasy in Austin, Texas at SXSW on March 10, 2025. Thanks to our friends at Flipboard for giving us the space and to DeleteMe for sponsoring the event.

Use code "404Media" for 20% off an annual plan of DeleteMe: https://www.404media.co/r/5d94373c?m=e247fe06-53d6-4c05-9484-be3684d4f655

Find Brian's work at Blood in the Machine: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/

This is a production of 404 Media, a journalist-owned tech website. Learn more and subscribe at: htttps://404media.co

Listen to our weekly podcasts:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-404-media-podcast/id1703615331?ref=404media.co

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0F3oY47l2XgoBMaAmIaw29?ref=404media.co

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5hY2FzdC5jb20vcHVibGljL3Nob3dzL3RoZS00MDQtbWVkaWEtcG9kY2FzdA?ref=404media.co

Become a paid subscriber for access to bonus content: https://404media.co/membership