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"Workslop" is when colleagues dump AI-generated text on you, creating an effort imbalance—they spend seconds generating it, you spend minutes reading it. The article outlines practical ways to push back, from direct refusal to using AI to summarize their AI, or simply ignoring low-stakes messages.
- The core problem is asymmetrical effort: AI generation is nearly free, but reading still costs you time, making it like a denial-of-service attack on your attention.
- You can counter workslop by treating lazy colleagues like coding agents (making them iterate), using AI to summarize their AI, or forcing synchronous communication where they can't paste blocks of text.
- For lower-stakes messages, you can just ignore or skim AI-generated content without guilt—if it's truly important, they'll explain it in their own words.
"Workslop" — when colleagues dump AI-generated text on you — creates an unfair effort imbalance: they spend seconds generating it, you spend minutes reading it. The article offers practical strategies to push back, from direct refusal to using AI to summarize their AI.
- The core problem is asymmetrical effort: AI generation is cheap but reading still costs time, making it like a denial-of-service attack on your attention.
- You can fight back by either setting boundaries directly (if you have authority), using AI to quickly extract key points from their dumps, or forcing synchronous communication where they can't hide behind generated text.
- For lower-stakes workslop like status updates, you can simply deprioritize it — skim or ignore it entirely, and if it's truly important they'll explain it themselves.
workslop
attention economy
+ ai generated text
+ workplace boundaries
+ productivity
+ communication