As generative AI makes it easier than ever to produce videos, images, music, and entire social media accounts with a few prompts, creators are facing a new question: How do you stand out when everyone suddenly has the tools to make content?

That question sat at the center of a VidCon panel titled "AI, Authenticity, and the Slop Problem: What Can We Actually Do Now?" Rather than treating AI as an existential threat, the panelists — a mix of creators, investors, media executives, and labor leaders — argued that the creators most likely to thrive are those who lean into qualities AI still struggles to replicate: genuine expertise, creative intention, and real community.

What is AI slop?

The conversation began with a deceptively simple prompt: Define "AI slop." The answers weren't as straightforward as you might expect.

For Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's national executive director and chief negotiator, slop is content that lacks "human creativity and human values." Legendary Jay, whose cinematic edits have earned millions of followers online, described it as work that "completely lacks intention." Venture capitalist Megan Lightcap argued that slop doesn't even have to be AI-generated. Sometimes, she said, humans rely so heavily on AI tools that the result simply feels "soulless."

Linguist and creator Adam Aleksic pushed the definition even further.

"The better question is not what is slop, but under what circumstances is slop produced," he said. His answer wasn't AI itself. It was the internet's incentive structure.

Platforms reward speed, scale, and engagement. AI simply makes it dramatically easier to produce content that satisfies those incentives, flooding feeds with material designed to perform rather than connect.

AI, several speakers argued, isn't inherently the problem. Crabtree-Ireland pointed to musicians experimenting with AI during the creative process as an example of technology supporting artistry rather than replacing it. What concerned him wasn't artists using AI to expand their work, but people using it to impersonate creators, duplicate their likenesses, or mass-produce derivative content that overwhelms platforms.

For creators wondering how to compete, the panel offered a surprisingly optimistic answer.

Make work that couldn't have come from anyone else

Legendary Jay argued that as AI-generated content becomes increasingly common, genuinely original work will become easier, not harder, to recognize.

"When something truly special comes out amongst mediocrity like that," he said, "it really lowers the platform for diamonds in the rough to shine above."

Aleksic cautioned against chasing authenticity simply because audiences value it. That, he argued, creates another performance. Instead, he encouraged creators to follow their own interests rather than optimizing for whatever the algorithm currently rewards.

"Follow your natural inclination to do the thing you want to do," he said. "That's actual authenticity versus this weird pseudo-authenticity that people can smell out a mile away."

The panelists also suggested that creators may need to rethink how they measure success altogether. Likes, views, and comments have become increasingly unreliable as bots, engagement farming, and AI-generated accounts proliferate across social platforms.

Instead, Lightcap encouraged creators to focus on signals that are much harder to fake: Will people leave their house to attend an event? Will they pay for a product? Are they willing to become part of a real community?

Keith Soljacich, executive vice president and head of innovation at Publicis Media, echoed that idea from a business perspective. Rather than depending entirely on platform algorithms, he encouraged creators to diversify their revenue streams through products, live experiences, and businesses that don't disappear if recommendation systems change overnight.

"The internet always wins," he said. "If you can diversify, you can protect yourself."

Protecting creators themselves was another recurring theme.

Crabtree-Ireland highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen legal protections for AI-generated likenesses, citing proposed legislation such as the No Fakes Act, which would give people greater control over the use of their faces, voices, and likenesses online. He also urged creators to take advantage of platform tools designed to detect unauthorized AI-generated content before it spreads.

Despite the discussion's focus on AI, the panel repeatedly returned to a more familiar truth about the internet: technology changes, incentives evolve, and algorithms come and go.

The creators who endure tend to be those who offer something that can't easily be automated, who have a distinctive point of view, expertise earned through experience, and a community built on trust rather than clicks.

As generative AI continues to lower the barrier to creating content, those human qualities may become creators' biggest competitive advantage.

Mashable is reporting live from VidCon 2026 in Anaheim. Follow our coverage for creator interviews, panel highlights, and the biggest moments from the convention floor.