{"id":14235,"date":"2026-07-04T19:19:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T18:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/technophilosoph.com\/2026\/07\/04\/addictive-ai-slop\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T19:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T18:34:17","slug":"addictive-ai-slop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technophilosoph.com\/en\/2026\/07\/04\/addictive-ai-slop\/","title":{"rendered":"Addictive AI Slop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Without even realizing it, I had been devouring books and articles on human behavior for years. Books with titles like *Nudge<\/a>*, *Predictably Irrational<\/a>*, and *Why Women Have Sex<\/a>* fascinated me and found their way onto my bookshelves. Then, around 2010, when gamification<\/a>\u2014the art of using game elements in a non-gaming environment to motivate people to behave in certain ways\u2014came onto the scene, all of that came back to me. And this was two decades after I\u2019d first been confronted with behavior that seemed irrational in corporate policy. But that\u2019s another story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where my fascination with the way people interact with one another and make life difficult for each other comes from. In the age of artificial intelligence, where existing or newly generated content can be converted into other formats with little effort, stories featuring strange behavior spread much more quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how I stumbled upon a whole niche on YouTube of such AI-narrated videos, in which stories\u2014mostly from Reddit forums\u2014about workplace, family, or relationship dramas are retold. It\u2019s always the same four or five voices provided by voice AI services that\u2014surprisingly well, though not without some errors\u2014tell a story in 15- to 60-minute videos about someone who was wronged but eventually got their revenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The stories are similar in structure. Each story always opens with the moment when a statement is made that compels the protagonist\u2014who narrates from their own perspective\u2014to act. The story is then told from the beginning, introducing the characters, up to the point where the situation escalates. This is followed by revenge, which often unfolds less as revenge per se and more as an automatic sequence of actions\u2014orchestrated with the narrator\u2019s wise foresight\u2014that has dramatic consequences for the perpetrator(s) who unsuccessfully attempt to prevent it, and leads to the narrator\u2019s unstoppable social and professional rise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workplace Dramas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In these workplace dramas, the story is told from the perspective of a company employee who, for years, has been working behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly, quietly putting in overtime at all hours of the day and night, maintaining good relationships with customers and suppliers, and thereby earning their trust. The superiors are either owners who, after years of putting off promises of promotions or pay raises, suddenly appoint a nephew, niece, son, daughter, or other relative to the position\u2014or managers who bring in their own friends. The latter tend to bleed the company dry through criminal means, pass off the protagonist\u2019s work as their own, or implement cost-cutting measures to increase their own bonuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is often overlooked\u2014or not understood at all\u2014is how the protagonist single-handedly keeps the company together. The software, the processes, the patents and licenses, and the personal relationships with customers built up over the years\u2014which account for a large portion of the company\u2019s revenue\u2014are all the result of the protagonist\u2019s tireless work over many years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denying a promotion or a pay raise\u2014or even firing the employee\u2014dramatically illustrates just how dependent the company is on the hero of the story. Customers follow the hero; the software begins to fail because authorization keys tied to the hero no longer work; the rights to the software developed in the hero\u2019s spare time are inextricably linked to the protagonist, and to obtain them, the company must either pay a hefty sum or the protagonist sells them to the competition. These and similar \u201cpoison pills\u201d then lead to the villain\u2019s downfall, as increasingly desperate calls, text messages, and pleas for help are directed at the protagonist\u2014who has only just been humiliatingly fired or passed over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this person has already received or accepted an offer from the competition, because in these circles, people always keep track of such stars, and since word of any changes spreads quickly, there\u2019s always someone right there to make a better offer\u2014one that comes with no strings attached and more resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, we learn how the villains in the industry have suffered irreparable damage to their professional reputations, how the company is no longer the same\u2014or has even gone under\u2014and how our hero is going from success to success in his new role and position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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