Reading is active translation: why text feels more intimate than decades of image slop
generativist · x · 2026-09-04
In a thread with @jonstokes, the author argues that image and video "slop" has been the default for decades (39 Marvel movies!), and consuming them is passive — occasionally moving but shallow. Reading, by contrast, is active: the reader is the translator, opening a direct door, making text more intimate and potentially persuasive. That's exactly why we demand both proof of work and provenance for writing.
Related event: Why AI slop in images is old news, but writing demands provenance(2 posts)→
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