Macquarie Dictionary Names "AI Slop" Word of 2025, Highlighting Digital Literacy Shift

The Macquarie Dictionary has declared "AI slop" as its Word of the Year for 2025, an honor that also secured the Public Choice award. This designation officially recognizes the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence-generated content on the 2025 information landscape. Macquarie Dictionary defines "AI slop" as: "low-quality content created by generative AI, often containing errors, and unsolicited by the user."

The judging committee stated that the term's emergence signals a necessary adaptation in online literacy for 2025, noting, "We now understand in 2025 what we mean by slop – AI generated slop, which lacks meaningful content or utility." Committee member David Astle drew parallels between "AI slop" and modern spam, pointing to its use in compound terms such as "slopaganda" and "corpslop." This phenomenon aligns with the recognition that public digital literacy, previously focused on functioning as "search engineers" to find meaningful information, must now evolve into the role of "prompt engineers" to navigate the expanse of "AI slop."

The rise of the term underscores an urgent need for new digital skills, as observed by the committee: "we now need to be prompt engineers to filter AI slop." Ironically, an AI entity such as ChatGPT responded that the award signifies the public is becoming more discerning regarding the quality of AI content, placing pressure on developers to improve both transparency and substance. In Indonesia, while AI usage has increased, research indicates a decline in public digital literacy, with the 2025 Indonesian Digital Society Index (IMDI) score dropping to 49.28 points from 58.25 points recorded in 2023, revealing a gap between technology adoption and critical thinking skills for information sorting.

The impact extends into the political sphere, where public figures such as former US President Donald Trump have been noted for disseminating high-profile content classifiable as "AI slop," particularly through sharing AI-generated media on social media accounts. For instance, in February 2025, Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting a hypothetical post-takeover scenario in Gaza. This trend corresponds with broader concerns; a study by Luminate and Ipsos indicated that 75% of respondents believed AI content could shape political opinions, even as 42% of those who felt immune to AI influence admitted uncertainty in distinguishing authentic content from AI-generated material.

"AI slop" is characterized as synthetic media linked to monetization within the social media creator economy and online advertising, broadly defined as "digital clutter" or "filler content that prioritizes speed and volume over substance and quality." Its influence on the creative world is evident, as artists and writers now contend with instantly and cheaply produced AI content, which frequently blurs the lines between fact and fiction and poses a threat to global information quality. Other nominees for 2025 reflected cultural and health shifts, including "Ozempic face," a condition linked to the use of the drug semaglutide, and "Blind box," a mystery container of unseen collectible items. For comparison, the Cambridge Dictionary selected "parasocial" as its 2025 Word of the Year, describing a perceived relationship with a media figure one does not know, while Collins Dictionary chose "vibe coding," describing the creation of applications or websites via description to an AI rather than manual coding.

Macquarie Dictionary also released a related book, *Dirty Politics: A–Z of Trickery, Treachery and Other Tasty Treats*, on November 25, which explores Australian political slang. The selection of "AI slop" highlights the ongoing challenge of maintaining informational integrity in a rapidly evolving digital environment.