New browser extension blocks AI slop by freezing the internet in 2022

Slop Evader Lets Users Block AI Content and Search the Pre-ChatGPT Era

A new browser extension called Slop Evader is offering internet users a chance to glimpse a pre-AI internet by automatically restricting search results to content published before November 30, 2022—the date OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public1

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. Created by Australian artist, environmental engineer, and tech critic Tega Brain, the tool addresses growing frustration with AI slop, the flood of AI-generated content that has degraded the quality of online information2

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Available for both Chrome and Firefox, Slop Evader functions as a form of digital protest against the decline in internet quality that many users have experienced since generative AI tools became widely accessible3

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. The extension works by adding Google's date-range filter to search queries, inserting a specific clause that limits results to pages dated before the ChatGPT launch2

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. While the technical implementation is straightforward—Brain herself acknowledges it as "just a convenience" that replicates what users could do manually with search operators—the tool makes filtering out AI-generated content significantly easier for everyday users2

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How the Browser Extension Tackles AI-Generated Content Across Major Platforms

Slop Evader doesn't just filter Google search results. The extension includes dedicated options to search Reddit, YouTube, Quora, Stack Exchange, Pinterest, and parenting site Mumsnet, ensuring that users can access human-written content across multiple platforms2

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. All searches are returned through Google, as Brain noted that most native search options on popular websites lack the ability to filter by date2

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The need for such a tool stems from the rapid contamination of the internet with AI slop—uncannily realistic but wholly fake images and videos, untrustworthy articles penned by large language models, and shell websites that game search engines to rise to the top of queries while burying legitimate sources1

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. "This sowing of mistrust in our relationship with media is a huge thing, a huge effect of this synthetic media moment we're in," Brain told 404 Media. "I've been thinking about ways to refuse it, and the simplest, dumbest way to do that is to only search before 2022"1

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The Cognitive Impacts and Long-Term Implications of AI Slop

The deteriorative effects of AI-generated content may extend beyond information integrity. An MIT Media Lab study from earlier this year suggested that large language model products like essay writing assistants are actually rewiring users' brains, creating "cognitive debts" that may include weakened neural connectivity and damaged memory retention, with wider long-term educational implications1

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. This research adds urgency to concerns about how quickly generative AI has altered our relationship with online information.

Brain positions Slop Evader as rallying "against false narratives of progress" and assumes that the quality of the internet as an information retrieval tool has been in rapid decline since the public uptake of generative AI2

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. "Everytime your attention is diverted to some piece of media, you must now ask yourself - is this real or is it machine learning? Slop Evader offers some respite," she wrote on the extension's GitHub page2

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What Users Should Watch For and the Limits of Freezing the Internet in 2022

While Slop Evader provides a cleaner search experience, it comes with inherent limitations. The tool cannot provide any up-to-date information from after 2022, and AI-generated content did exist before ChatGPT's launch—it was simply more obvious and less sophisticated1

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. The extension will eliminate the bulk of AI slop that's increasingly difficult to identify, but won't catch everything2

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Brain herself doesn't view the browser extension as a complete solution. "We need collective action and pushback that goes beyond individual tools to avoid machine learning," she noted on GitHub. "I hope this project inspires more work and thinking on tools that support a politics of refusal"2

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. The simple JavaScript and HTML code is available on GitHub for anyone who wants to modify it or add additional site filters, and Brain told The Register she's interested in adding more sites if users request them2

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For users seeking to block AI content and reclaim some trust in their search results, Slop Evader represents both a practical tool and a statement about the need for platforms to improve filtering, moderation, and transparency3

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. As the extension gains attention, it highlights a growing demand for ways to navigate an internet increasingly polluted by synthetic media.