slopline
Lexicon ex Machina
slopline /ˈslɒplaɪn/ n., v., adj.
noun
The maximum tolerable ratio of AI-generated filler to original content in a publication. “The magazine quietly raised its slopline after laying off half the editorial staff.”
An implicit or explicit editorial standard governing acceptable AI contribution. “Substack has no slopline; Medium pretends it does.”
The point at which a reader detects or suspects AI authorship. “I hit the slopline in paragraph three and closed the tab.”
verb slopline | sloplines | sloplined | sloplining
transitive. To establish or enforce a maximum AI content ratio. “The journal sloplined at 15% after the retraction scandal.”
transitive. To evaluate content against such a standard. “Every submission gets sloplined before peer review.”
intransitive. To produce content at or near the maximum tolerable AI ratio. “He’s not writing anymore, he’s sloplining.”
adjective
Operating at maximum tolerable AI content ratio. “A slopline publication with delusions of authority.”
Derivatives
slopliner n. A writer or publication that habitually operates at maximum AI ratio. “The byline said journalist; the prose said slopliner.”
sloplined adj. Having reached or exceeded acceptable AI content thresholds. “The article was sloplined beyond salvage.”
over-slopline adj. Exceeding acceptable AI generation ratios. “Three paragraphs in and already over-slopline.”
sub-slopline adj. Within acceptable limits of AI assistance. “Technically sub-slopline, but the voice was gone.”
slopline-adjacent adj. Perilously close to detection or rejection. “His newsletter has been slopline-adjacent for months.”
Compounds
slopline audit n. Formal or informal review of content for AI generation markers. “HR added slopline audits to the quarterly review process.”
slopline creep n. Gradual institutional relaxation of AI content standards. “What started as emergency measures became slopline creep.”
slopline blindness n. Inability or unwillingness to detect AI-generated content. “Readers develop slopline blindness; editors can’t afford to.”
Usage Notes The term carries implicit criticism: to discuss a publication’s slopline is to suggest it has one. Prestige outlets maintain the fiction of having no slopline by never acknowledging the question. The slopline is always higher than officially stated and lower than readers assume.
Origin Mid-2026s. From slop (low-quality AI-generated content) + line (boundary, limit). Originally pejorative, now industry-standard. The term emerged from online discourse critiquing the flood of AI-generated content and was quickly adopted—without irony—by the publications it was coined to criticize.
See Also
botline (n., the minimum performance standard achievable via AI)
slop (n., low-quality AI-generated content)
content collapse (n., ecosystem degradation from AI content recycling)