BlockBeats reported that a16z partner Tim Sullivan said the surge in “slop” as AI sharply lowers the cost of producing content, along with the moral panic around AI creation, is not a new phenomenon.
In his post, Sullivan argued that history has seen the same pattern repeatedly. From Grub Street and penny papers to popular novels, television, blogs, and social media, every major drop in production costs has produced a flood of low-cost content and similar cultural disputes.
Taste is not one thing
Citing social science research, the article said “taste” should not be treated as a single capability. It may reflect several different mechanisms, including judgment about what will succeed, access to information across social circles, and professional judgment built through long periods of training.
Sullivan also referenced research from Columbia University showing that social influence and path dependence can heavily shape whether a work becomes a breakout hit. That helps explain why even experts struggle to predict true winners consistently.
Innovation often comes from positions between groups
The article also cited sociologist Ron Burt’s theory of “structural holes,” which holds that people with real innovative capacity often sit between different communities and gain distinct perspectives through cross-circle contact.
In Sullivan’s view, AI can pull information from different fields quickly, but it cannot fully replace the tacit knowledge, trust, and experience that people accumulate by participating directly in multiple social networks.
Cutting training pipelines could create a future shortage
Sullivan said that as AI spreads, the more important human role may shift toward verification and judgment. Judgment, however, has to be built through apprenticeship, feedback, and long-term practice.
He added that if companies weaken training systems because AI replaces entry-level roles, they may cut costs in the short term but leave themselves with a smaller future supply of people who have mature judgment. In his view, what may become truly scarce in the AI era is not “taste” itself, but the talent, networks, and social infrastructure required to cultivate good judgment.