This is the English version of a document I shared with my team at work. The original, in Spanish, used the term workslop instead of AI slop, but AI slop is more appropriate. Ironically, I did heavy editing of the initial versions to eliminate parts that seem sloppy to me.
We write, sketch, and diagram to communicate, but also to think clearly.
Generative AI makes it possible to start with a rough idea and generate a professional document in seconds. The downside is that we spend less time reviewing our work, resulting in documents filled with meaningless details or filler sections. This issue is so widespread that it has a name: AI slop.
Corporate writing, full of empty words, existed long before AI. But today, with AI, there is an imbalance between production and understanding. When you read a 10-page document full of AI slop, the sense of wasted time is immediate, and the consequence is distrust.
This manifesto is not against the use of AI. The text you are reading was assisted by AI in many ways: researching articles, creating a first draft inspired by the Agile Manifesto, transcribing and translating voice notes, and finally, correcting and iterating.
Core Values
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Original thinking reinforced by AI, over automatic generation without critical review.
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Clarity with substance, over length without content.
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Declared and responsible authorship, over opaque delegation to the model.
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Trust earned over time, over apparent short-term efficiency.
Principles
If you can’t explain it, don’t send it
Sending something you can’t explain transfers the cognitive load to the recipient. That has a cost in time, attention, and trust.
Declare the use of AI
Today, we cannot look down on the use of AI, but it is important to communicate the degree of validation and editing that we performed. It’s better to say, “I researched this with AI, but didn’t have time to validate it thoroughly.”
Brevity with substance beats length without content
One paragraph that says something is worth more than ten that don’t say anything.
Use AI to think better, not to avoid thinking
Writing is not just producing text: it is organizing ideas, identifying logical gaps, and committing to a position. Use AI to enhance that process rather than avoid it.
Tools do not have judgment; you do
AI does not know the audience’s context or the timing. The added value lies not only in using a tool but also in applying your judgment.