Slop stars: why AI-generated content could help creators
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.4 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a world of infinite content, who wins and who loses? Our correspondent explains what the proliferation of AI-generated art means for human artists. What the prevalence of male-female friendships tell us about a society. And why you should propose with a yellow-gold ring.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist |
| 0:02.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:10.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:14.0 | I'm your host, Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:16.0 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:27.5 | Can men and women truly be friends? |
| 0:31.5 | It's an age-old debate, and now the data bods have weighed in, |
| 0:36.7 | not with the answer, but what it says about societies where those relationships are common, |
| 0:38.3 | or discouraged. And after something of a hiatus, |
| 0:42.3 | apparently what the young want these days is five gold rings. |
| 0:46.3 | And no, tis not just the season. |
| 0:48.3 | After a boom in silver and other glittery things, |
| 0:51.3 | the metals are turning once again. First up though. |
| 1:08.0 | AI is the defining technology of our time and how we empower people to use it will shape our country's future. |
| 1:16.6 | Real sustainable improvements in quality of life come from scientific and technological progress, and I think we're going to have a lot more of that. |
| 1:23.6 | Advances in technology have freed much of humanity to focus less on subsistence and more on the pursuits that we choose. |
| 1:31.3 | The genius enters the arena, calm as ever, look at the focus on his face! |
| 1:36.3 | Wait a second, he's right on the top of the cage! He's airborne! |
| 1:40.3 | Do a kickflip! |
| 1:43.3 | They said one simply must try the cheese puffs, and I do see why. |
| 1:48.0 | AI is seen by a lot of people as this miracle technology, |
| 1:53.0 | but its latest feat seems to be to bring forth videos of things like skateboarding kittens, |
... |
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