AEE 2563: Is Brainrot Taking Over the Dictionary?

The podcast explores the recent trend of dictionaries choosing words related to AI and online culture as their "word of the year." It begins with a listener question about the phrase "6-7," which was Dictionary.com's word of the year, tracing its origins to a song and its popularization through basketball-related memes before adults co-opted it, rendering it uncool. The hosts then discuss Merriam-Webster's word of the year, "slop," referring to low-quality, often AI-generated content, and the Oxford Dictionary's choice, "rage bait," which describes deliberately provocative online content designed to elicit strong reactions. They provide examples of how these terms manifest in online articles, podcasts, and even advertising, and the ethical implications of algorithms designed to promote such content.