Slop Evader is a browser extension designed to filter out AI-generated content, often referred to as “AI slop,” by restricting search results to material published before November 30, 2022, the date ChatGPT was publicly released. This approach ensures users encounter only human-created text, images, and videos, addressing concerns over the proliferation of synthetic media that has eroded trust in online information. The tool takes a “scorched earth” method to guarantee slop-free results, though it inherently excludes any post-2022 content, making it unsuitable for time-sensitive queries.
About the Creator, Tega Brain
The extension was developed by Tega Brain, an Australian-born artist, environmental engineer, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of ecology, data, automation, and infrastructure. Brain holds a PhD in Eccentric Engineering from the Australian National University, completed in 2023, which critiques how automated systems and AI reshape ecological thinking and proposes alternative system designs that prioritize ecosystems over human-centric agendas. She is an Industry Associate Professor of Integrated Design and Media at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, where she teaches and researches computational art and design. Brain has co-authored the book Code as Creative Medium (MIT Press, 2021) with Golan Levin, which serves as a guide for teaching computational creativity and has been translated into multiple languages.
Her notable artworks include dysfunctional devices like wireless networks responsive to natural phenomena and an online smell-based dating service, exhibited at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian, and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin. A 2023 Creative Capital awardee, Brian’s projects often provoke reflection on technology’s societal impacts, aligning with Slop Evader’s goal of resisting the “dystopian” AI-driven internet. She was motivated to create the tool amid growing public criticism of the tech industry’s aggressive AI rollout, emphasizing how synthetic media sows mistrust in our relationship with online content.
How It Works and Supported Features
Slop Evader integrates with the Google Search API to apply date filters, returning only pre-ChatGPT era results across supported platforms. It currently enables filtered searches on sites prone to AI contamination, including Google, YouTube, Reddit, Stack Exchange, and MumsNet (a parenting forum). Users can install it on Chrome via the Chrome Web Store or on Firefox through Mozilla Add-ons. The experience is described as both refreshing, allowing browsing without constant skepticism, and limiting, as it evokes nostalgia for a more human-centric web while locking users out of current events. On X (formerly Twitter), users have shared links to the extension, praising its concept for combating AI pollution, though no widespread adoption metrics are available yet.
Limitations and Provocative Intent
A key drawback is the inability to access recent or time-sensitive information, such as news, new research, or sites launched after 2022, including many modern resources. This restriction is intentional, serving as a provocation to encourage users to question and collectively resist the AI-saturated internet imposed by Silicon Valley. Brain views it not as a permanent solution but as a catalyst for broader cultural pushback, potentially inspiring search engines to implement AI content filters.
Future Plans and Broader Context
Brain has outlined intentions to expand support for additional sites and release a version using DuckDuckGo’s search index instead of Google’s, aiming for greater flexibility. In related developments, DuckDuckGo introduced an AI-generated image filter in July 2025, allowing users to hide synthetic visuals in search results to improve authenticity and reduce clutter. This feature, while not yet extending to text or video, represents a step toward user-controlled AI avoidance, as DuckDuckGo acknowledges the tool’s imperfections but its effectiveness in minimizing AI slop. No further updates on broader AI content filters from DuckDuckGo or other engines were found as of late 2025, but Brain’s work highlights ongoing demands for such options.
