Flushed but not gone: Brainrot and AI slop as abject excess in data-intensive capitalism

In recent years, terms such as “brainrot,” “sludge content,” and “AI slop” have emerged almost simultaneously to describe the accelerating decay of the Internet: trashy content propelled by algorithmic dullness appears to be choking the once-vibrant online culture to death. This article argues that the convergence of these neologisms signals a deeper crisis: the problem of excess in contemporary data-intensive capitalism. Drawing on Georges Bataille’s theory of general economy and Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection, it contends that brainrot and slop, as forms of abjection, reveal the uncontainable excess inherent to the system’s own design. Through an analysis of Skibidi Toilet, I demonstrate how the fear of abject excess overwhelms the fear of surveillance embedded in data-intensive capitalism.