Unveiling ‘Workslop’: The AI-Generated Content Phenomenon Plaguing Businesses and How to Combat It

In a groundbreaking collaboration, specialists from BetterUp Labs and Stanford Social Media Lab have introduced a novel term to denote subpar artificial intelligence (AI) output in the workforce: “workslop.” This definition, published recently in the Harvard Business Review, describes AI-generated content that appears competent but lacks depth needed to significantly progress tasks.

The researchers argue that workslop may be one reason behind the 95% of organizations struggling to yield returns on their AI investments. They explain that workslop can manifest as ambiguous, incomplete, or context-deficient, ultimately burdening others with additional work to rectify these issues.

As detailed by the researchers, the pervasive impact of workslop is its propensity to shift responsibility downstream, compelling recipients to decipher, correct, or rework the output.

In an ongoing survey involving 1,150 full-time U.S.-based employees, around 40% admitted encountering workslop within the past month. To prevent this, workplace leaders are advised to demonstrate mindful and purposeful AI utilization and establish clear boundaries for teams regarding acceptable norms of use.