Emmett Shear Warns of Rising "Slop Line" in AI Economy, Emphasizing Human Discernment

Emmett Shear, co-founder of Twitch and former interim CEO of OpenAI, has issued a stark warning regarding the future of the "AI economy," asserting that individuals must cultivate "taste and discernment" to avoid being overwhelmed by a "rising slop line" of low-quality AI-generated content. Shear, now leading Softmax AI alignment, shared his perspective on the critical need for human judgment as artificial intelligence rapidly advances.

"In the AI economy, you either develop your taste and discernment or you fall below the rising slop line," Shear stated in a recent social media post. His comments highlight a growing concern among tech leaders about the implications of AI's ability to produce vast quantities of information, some of which may lack quality or depth.

Shear's views stem from his extensive experience in technology and his current focus on AI alignment. He distinguishes between AI's capacity to "converge to a loss function"—effectively optimizing for predefined metrics—and the human ability for "discernment," which involves recognizing when those metrics themselves are flawed or insufficient. This human faculty, he suggests, will be paramount in navigating an AI-driven landscape.

The former OpenAI chief's perspective underscores the challenge of maintaining quality and meaning in an era where AI can generate content with unprecedented speed and scale. His work at Softmax AI alignment explores "organic alignment," a concept where AI systems develop genuine care and understanding for their context, as opposed to rigid "systems of control" that might inadvertently lead to unintended and undesirable outcomes, including a proliferation of undifferentiated content.

Shear's statement serves as a call to action for individuals to sharpen their critical faculties and for developers to consider the broader implications of AI's output. The rapid evolution of AI capabilities necessitates a proactive approach to ensure that technological progress enhances, rather than diminishes, the value of human-generated and curated content.