The mass adoption of generator AI has created strange waves of slops that are incomprehensible.
There was a “good ending.” AI had a big name in the image depicting Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as star-crossed lovers. And then of course there was “Shrimp Jesus.” Then there was “Baby Monk.” This is an ominous series featuring babies dressed in robes that can be eaten alive by fire ants.
There are definitely countless other inexplicable trends. But perhaps there is no Gen AI fixture that captures our present moment, which is swirling right now thanks to meta AI. They intentionally crash through a glass bottom bridge, and a flock of innocent people watch out for their deaths.
“That Real? Is it a Glass Bridge Accident?” reads the captions of one video that captures over 130,000 views. Another posted from an account called “A lovely moment” shows another Women intentionally crush the glass panels before they run around, as the other panels give way like dominoes.
There are dozens of variations on this theme, usually showing older white women and characters with severe stereotypical racial identities shattering bridges with large rocks. Each mixes the virus slops according to the same proven formula. The shocking action incites a panic that ends just a few seconds, either with a frightening tragedy or a sentimental euphoria.
One uploaded over x-formerly-twitter went viral and earned over 32 million views. It shows an elderly heavy set woman painted into smiles, with smiles jumping backwards, crashing down a glass floor, and stretched outros involved A golden retriever who saves a baby drowning from the river below.
“Facebook and Reels were autoplayed. FirstReel had 57K likes and 12,000 comments,” the poster said. “The comments were overwhelmingly impressed by the old man who praised the dog. The AI slop escaped containment.”
Some videos uploaded to Facebook have content generated disclaimers, but the majority do not. And while a handful seem to have come to attract thousands of viewers, many have been posted on small, AI-heavy accounts, with only a few comments and reactions.
So, what's going on here?
As many commenters have pointed out, Glass Bridge Slop, like its predecessor, is an obvious symptom of “Dead Internet Theory.” Born as a web forum plot, Dead Internet Theory essentially claims that most of what we saw on the Internet has been fake since at least 2016.
While more delusional supporters believe that various shadow governments may be behind the phenomenon, dead Internet theory has a core of truth. Social media is highly reported, and content engagement takes priority over human connection.
This was essentially confirmed in an anti-trust lawsuit attempting to prove that Zuckerberg's meta holds an illegal monopoly over social media. This is not the case, and to argue to avoid breaking down his multi-billion dollar corporate empire, Zuckerberg switched gears and portrayed Facebook as an “entertainment space” rather than a social media platform.
“The friends part has gone down considerably,” Zuckerberg testified, adding that Facebook's core purpose “we didn't connect with friends anymore.”
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