By The Chronicle Staff

Have you ever stopped scrolling because a photo looked almost too perfect? Or watched a video only to realize halfway through that it wasn’t real?

If so, you’re experiencing what technology experts are increasingly calling “AI slop”—a growing wave of artificial intelligence-generated images, videos, voices and social media posts that are becoming nearly impossible to distinguish from authentic content.

The Wall Street Journal recently launched a special podcast series examining how this flood of AI-generated media is beginning to blur the line between reality and fiction, raising new concerns about misinformation, trust and even the way our brains process information.

Just a few years ago, AI-generated content was often easy to spot. People joked about images with extra fingers, distorted faces or nonsensical text. Those obvious mistakes have largely disappeared.

Today’s AI tools can create remarkably realistic photos, videos and voices in just minutes. Fictional social media personalities can attract millions of followers, while fake celebrity images, AI-generated cooking videos and fabricated news clips circulate alongside genuine content. On a smartphone screen, the difference is becoming increasingly difficult to detect.

One example highlighted by the Journal is an AI-generated social media personality named “Granny Spills,” a fictional grandmother whose humorous videos attracted more than a million followers in a matter of weeks. While clearly intended as entertainment, experts say it demonstrates just how quickly audiences can engage with digital personalities that don’t actually exist.

The bigger concern isn’t harmless entertainment — it’s the growing number of AI-generated posts designed to deceive.

Fake political speeches, fabricated crime scenes, altered disaster footage and realistic scam videos can spread across social media before fact-checkers have time to respond. As the technology improves, experts warn that people may begin questioning authentic evidence just as much as fabricated content.

That erosion of trust could become one of AI’s biggest long-term consequences.

Digital forensics expert Hany Farid, a computer science professor at Dartmouth College, said humans simply aren’t wired to detect sophisticated digital fabrications.

For thousands of years, people relied on their eyes and ears to judge reality. Today, AI can manipulate both so convincingly that even trained experts sometimes struggle to determine what is genuine.

So what can people do?

Experts recommend approaching online content with the mindset of a fact-checker rather than a casual viewer. Before sharing something surprising or emotionally charged, consider where it came from. Does the account have a credible history? Do other reputable news organizations report the same event? Are there visual inconsistencies such as unusual shadows, distorted reflections or impossible perspectives?

Perhaps most importantly, pause when a post seems designed to provoke outrage, fear or amazement. Those emotional reactions are often exactly what bad actors hope to trigger because they encourage rapid sharing before people verify the facts.

The challenge extends beyond social media. AI-generated voices are now realistic

enough to imitate family members in phone scams. Synthetic music has appeared on streaming platforms. Even product reviews, recipes and travel photos are increasingly being generated by artificial intelligence rather than real people.

None of this means AI is inherently harmful. The same technology is helping doctors analyze medical images, assisting businesses with repetitive tasks and giving artists new creative tools. Like many innovations, its impact depends on how people choose to use it.

But as AI-generated content becomes an everyday part of the internet, digital literacy may become just as important as traditional literacy.

In the years ahead, the question may no longer be whether something online could have been created by AI.

Instead, it may become second nature to ask one simple question before believing — or sharing —it: “How do I know this is real?”■