Quartz – Tech News

‘Slop’ is the word of the year. Here’s how to avoid it

The internet has spent the year arguing about whether AI is genius, theft, or destiny. Merriam-Webster’s editors cut through it with a simpler verdict: slop. The dictionary crowned “slop” its 2025 “word of the year,” joining in on the anti-AI backlash and recognizing that the internet’s new factory setting looks a lot like synthetic filler — low-quality AI content, made in bulk, and poured straight into feeds until the human parts get buried. If your For You page has started to resemble a trough of glossy, almost-real nonsense, congrats, you’re experiencing a cultural moment — with a dictionary entry.
https://qz.com/ai-slop-word-of-the-year-miriam-webster-avoid-it

Microsoft is mandating workers return to the office 3 days a week

"We’ve looked at how our teams work best, and the data is clear: when people work together in person more often, they thrive — they are more energized, empowered, and they deliver stronger results," Amy Coleman, the company's executive VP and chief people officer, said in a memo sent to employees Tuesday. "As we build the AI products that will define this era, we need the kind of energy and momentum that comes from smart people working side by side, solving challenging problems together."
https://qz.com/microsoft-rto-return-to-work-ending-remote-work

The old internet is dying. What’s next?

Everyone knows traditional search is dying. No one quite knows what comes next. But the rise of AI search comes with a brutal cost for traditional websites. According to the same Pew research, searches with AI Overviews result in dramatically fewer clicks to other websites. When Google shows an AI summary, users click through to other sites just 8% of the time, compared to 15% for searches without AI answers, which represents a nearly 50% drop. Even worse, only 1% of AI Overviews generate clicks to the sources they cite. What's emerging from the chaos is a discipline marketers are calling GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) or AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization), essentially SEO for the AI era. But unlike traditional search optimization, which followed somewhat predictable patterns, AI optimization feels more like reading tea leaves.
https://qz.com/internet-future-google-search-ai

Google’s antitrust case could hinge on the definition of AI

On the final day of the most consequential tech antitrust trial in decades, a question from the bench may have gotten to the core of Google’s (GOOGL) defense: Could artificial intelligence already be doing what regulators hope to accomplish through the courts? While the DOJ has focused on Google’s multibillion-dollar default search deals — particularly with Apple (AAPL) — the judge appears to be looking at whether the concept of a “search market” still applies in an AI-driven world.
https://qz.com/google-antitrust-case-ai-search-chatgpt-1851783125

Turns out people are using AI like a personal shopper

“The conversion gap reinforces that AI is being utilized during the research and consideration stage, in advance of when shoppers are ready to hit the buy button.” But, it added, the closing gap “shows that consumers are also increasingly comfortable completing a transaction directly after an AI-powered chat experience.”
https://qz.com/gen-ai-personal-shopper-adobe-e-commerce-1851770510

Apple is turning its AirPods into the Babel fish from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Apple (AAPL) is designing a new AirPods feature that would allow users to listen and respond to live translations of in-person conversations, according to a Bloomberg report that cites unnamed sources. The feature will reportedly work in tandem with an iPhone, which will translate speech for the user and relay it to a pair of AirPods. When the user responds, the iPhone will play a translation out loud, enabling a two-way conversation.
https://qz.com/apple-airpods-translate-ios-19-1851770018