Substack AI slop proliferation
Casey Newton observed that a Substack post that made Techmeme was clearly Claude-generated, reflecting growing concern about AI-generated slop polluting media.
Snapshot · Hard Fork
‘Hard Fork’ Live, Part 2: Dylan Field on Standing Out in the A.I. Era
Explore episode
Jun 17, 2026
Where this was said
Casey's Complaint: AI Slop Is Flooding Journalism and Design
At 17:45 · chapter starts 17:25
The conversation takes a personal turn when Casey Newton brings up something that had been bothering him all day: he read a Substack post on Techmeme and immediately recognized it as Claude-generated. For someone who has spent years trying to get his own work surfaced on tech aggregators, seeing AI output get the same placement was demoralizing. [1] — Casey Newton "Casey Newton read a Substack post on Techmeme today that was clearly generated by Claude — and it made him furious. His profession is start…" 17:25 His profession, he says, is starting to look more and more like slop. He turns the question on Field: are designers in the audience having a similar feeling? Do they look at the websites and apps being put out and just know — immediately — that a button generated it? It's a raw, honest moment in an otherwise buoyant conversation, and Field's response (pointing to imposter syndrome as a shared trait) is characteristically generous.
Casey's Complaint: AI Slop Is Flooding Journalism
Casey Newton read a Substack post on Techmeme today that was clearly generated by Claude — and it made him furious. His profession is starting to look like slop, and he wonders if designers feel the same dread when they see AI-generated work everywhere.
Designers still being hired
Dylan Field said companies are telling him that design is one of the most prioritized areas for hiring, even as fears about AI job replacement grow.
Dylan Field Is Bullish on Designer Jobs
Despite AI anxiety, Dylan Field predicts there will be significantly more people with the title 'designer' in two years than today. Engineers are discovering design on the back of vibe coding, and companies are still actively prioritizing design hires.
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