LinkedIn’s newest feature: A ‘Seems Like AI Slop’ button

Anyone job hunting or recruiting on LinkedIn in the last few years has no doubt come across users who post AI-generated “slop” that is either poorly done or is intended to dupe as original thought. LinkedIn is reportedly aiming to do something about it by introducing a "seems like AI slop" button so users can flag posts they suspect were created by machines instead of humans. The option is currently in testing and there’s no word on when it will be available to the broader user base. Currently, the button does not appear when the post drop-down menu is selected on the site. LinkedIn is introducing the AI flag less than a month after404 Media reported that the Pangram AI detection service found an estimated 41 percent of LinkedIn's long-form posts and 30 percent of its short-form posts are likely generated by AI.Hari Srinivasan, the chief product officer at LinkedIn, wrote a post about the button on the site shortly after 404 Media reported its existence. LinkedIn announced it is testing a new button users can select to flag posts they suspect are AI-generated (AFP/Getty)“AI slop is a top priority for all of us. We really care about this. People come to LinkedIn to connect with real people and share their real perspectives, ideas and expertise. Here are a few more changes to keep it that way,” he wrote.The button is intended to help LinkedIn tweak its AI-detection systems to cut down on LLM posts. “We are ramping up a series of new and improved classifiers that identify if a post is AI-slop or generally low-quality content. This will reduce the amount of AI slop you might see in suggested content and content from outside your network,” the post said. Slop is hard to define and the definition changes; this lets us tune our models and make better feeds.”LinkedIn told 404 Media that it also changed its policy in May to disincentivize the AI-produced posts. “Professionals come to LinkedIn to hear from real people and their unique insights and perspectives. We actively work to reduce low quality, automated or generic content, and while AI can be used to beat the blank page problem, our focus is on surfacing professional conversations that help people advance their careers,” the policy now says. A photo of a test feature on LinkedIn posts that will allow users to flag content that 'seems like AI slop.' The feature is meant to help the site crack down on AI-generated posts (Hari Srinivasan/LinkedIn)The social media site has also reportedly removed its "enhance with AI" option that shows up when users are drafting posts. That option will be replaced with an option for proofreading that doesn't substantially rewrite the post using AI, according to CNET. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also recently removed one of its AI tools integrated into the site. In early July, Meta released Muse Image, a Meta AI tool that let users tag public-facing accounts on Instagram and then create AI-generated or altered content of the images posted to those accounts. The feature sparked fierce criticism from users, prompting Meta to remove it and admit that it "missed the mark." “Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way,” Meta said in a statement. “We've heard the feedback.”Reddit also announced in early July that it was using its own AI-powered detectors to find and stop spammy, AI-generated posts from reaching users. Meanwhile, hundreds of individual subreddits and their human users and moderators have placed bans on AI-generated content within their communities.