"The US dictionary Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2025 was slop, which it defines as digital content of low quality that is produced, usually in quantity, by means of artificial intelligence. The choice underlined the fact that while AI is being widely embraced, not least by corporate bosses keen to cut payroll costs, its downsides are also becoming obvious. In 2026, a reckoning with reality for AI represents a growing economic risk."
"Ed Zitron, the foul-mouthed figurehead of AI scepticism, argues pretty convincingly that, as things stand, the unit economics of the entire industry the cost of servicing the requests of a single customer against the price companies are able to charge them just don't add up. In typically colourful language, he calls them dogshit."
"Revenues from AI are rising rapidly as more paying clients sign up but so far not by enough to cover the wild levels of investment under way: $400bn (297bn) in 2025, with much more forecast in the next 12 months. Another vehement sceptic, Cory Doctorow, argues: These companies are not profitable. They can't be profitable. They keep the lights on by soaking up hundreds of billions of dollars in other people's money and then lighting it on fire."
Merriam-Webster's 2025 word of the year was slop, defined as digital content of low quality produced, usually in quantity, by artificial intelligence. AI adoption is widespread as corporations seek payroll savings, but quality and economic downsides are emerging. Industry unit economics frequently fail to cover the cost of servicing customers relative to prices charged, leaving profitability elusive. Revenues are rising but trail massive investment—$400bn in 2025—with more spending forecast. Each generation of large language models has increased costs through greater data, energy, and expert labor demands, and data centres are often financed by debt against future revenue while key chips have limited lifespans.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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