By KELVIN CHAN, AP Business Writer

AI slop seems to be everywhere. Low-quality digital content made with artificial intelligence has flooded our feeds, screens and speakers. Is there anything we can do about it?

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If you want fewer cartoonish videos of dead celebrities, creepy or absurd images or fake bands playing synthetic tunes, a few platforms have rolled out settings and features to help minimize AI-generated content.

Here is a guide on how to use them. But first, a caveat from Henry Ajder, who advises businesses and governments on AI and has been studying deepfakes since 2018. He warned that it’s “incredibly difficult” to entirely remove AI slop content entirely from all your feeds.

He compared AI slop to the smog generated from the industrial revolution, when there weren’t any pollution controls in place.

“It’s going to be very, very hard for people to avoid inhaling, in this analogy.”

Pinterest

Pinterest’s move to lean into the AI boom made it something of a poster child for the AI slop problem, as user complained that the online moodboard for pinning inspirational material by themes has become overrun with AI content.

So Pinterest recently rolled out a “tuner” that lets users adjust the amount of AI content they see in their feeds.

It rolled out first on Android and desktop operating systems, before starting on a more gradual roll out on iOS.

“Now, users can dial down the AI and add more of a human touch,” Pinterest said, adding that it would initially cover some categories that are “highly prone to AI modification or generation” such as beauty, art, fashion and home decor.

More categories have since been added, including architecture, art, beauty, entertainment, men’s, women’s and children’s fashion, health, home décor, and sport, food and drink.

To use the tuner, go to Settings and then to “refine your recommendations.” and then tap on GenAI interests, where you can use toggles to indicate the categories you’d like to see less AI-content.

TikTok

It’s no surprise that AI-generated videos proliferate on TikTok, the short-video sharing app. The company says there are at least 1.3 billion video clips on its platform it has labeled as AI-generated.

TikTok said in November it was testing an update to give users more control of the AI-generated content in their For You feeds. It’s not clear when it will be widely available. TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.

To see if you have it on the TikTok mobile app, go to Settings, then Content Preferences, then to Manage Topics where you’ll see a set of sliders to control various types of content, such as dance, humor, lifestyle and nature.

You can also access the controls from the For You feed, by tapping the Share button on the side of a post, then tap Why this Video, then Adjust your For You, and then Manage topics.

There should be a new slider that allows you to dial down — or turn up — the amount of AI-generated content that you receive. If you don’t see it yet, it might be because you haven’t received the update yet. TikTok said late last year that it would start testing the feature in coming weeks.

These controls are not available on the desktop browser interface.

You won’t be able to get red of AI content altogether — TikTok says the controls are used to tailor the content rather than removing or replacing it entirely from feeds.

“This means that people who love AI-generated history content can see more of this content, while those who’d rather see less can choose to dial things down,” it said.

Deezer

Song generation tools like Suno and Udio let users create music merely by typing some ideas into a chatbot window. Anyone can use them to spit out polished pop songs, but it also means streaming services have been flooded with AI tunes, often by accounts masquerading as real artists.

Among the music streaming platforms, only Deezer, a smaller European-based player, gives listeners a way to tell them apart by labeling songs as AI.

“Deezer has been really, really pushing the anti-AI generation music narrative,” said Henry Ajder.

Deezer says 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks, or more than 39% of the daily total, are uploaded to its platform every day and last year it detected and labeled more than 13.4 million AI tracks. The company says the people doing it are trying to make money by fraudulent streams.

Change your platform

If you can tear yourself away from Big Tech platforms, there are a new generation of apps targeting users who want to avoid AI.

Cara is a portfolio-sharing platform for artists that bans AI-generated work. Pixelfed is an ad-free Instagram rival where users can join different servers, or communities, including one for art that does not allow AI-generated content. Spread is a new social media platform with content for people who want to “access human ideas” and “escape the flood of AI slop.”

Watch out for the upcoming launch of diVine, a reboot of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s defunct short form video app Vine. The app has only been available as a limited prerelease for Apple iOS. It promises “No AI Slop” and uses multiple approaches to detect AI. An Android beta app is expected soon. The company plans to launch it in app stores soon but needs more time to get ready for unexpectedly high demand.

Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico and the United States said Tuesday that they had reached an agreement under which Mexico would send a minimum amount of water annually to the U.S.

President Donald Trump had threatened to raise tariffs by 5% on Mexican imports if it did not deliver more water. The countries have been negotiating the issue for months.

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Under the new agreement, Mexico will send at least 350,000 acre-feet of water to the United States each year during the current five-year cycle. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover 1 acre of land to a depth of 1 foot.

Mexico’s commitment to a minimum annual delivery amount is a change from what is required under the 1944 Water Treaty.

Under the existing treaty, Mexico must deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. from six tributaries every five years. The average annual amount is 350,000 acre-feet, but the U.S. has complained that Mexico builds up a water debt in the first years of a cycle that hurts Texas farmers before eventually meeting the treaty requirement.

The United States, in return, gives Mexico even more water from other water sources farther west along their shared border.

The agreement reached between the governments would even out those deliveries from Mexico.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs, Environmental and Agriculture ministries confirmed an agreement with the U.S. in a statement Tuesday, but without including the agreed to amount. “Mexico confirmed its willingness to guarantee the delivery of an annual minimum quantity agreed to by both countries,” the statement said.

While the U.S. government celebrated the agreement as a victory, it is a sensitive issue in Mexico, especially among farmers in northern states suffering drought conditions.

In the border state of Tamaulipas, across from Texas, farmers have said in recent weeks that the lack of water has led some to not plant crops.

The agreement followed a phone conversation last week between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

In December, Sheinbaum had said Mexico would be sending more water to cover the existing debt.

By BRITTANY MULLINS

When a friend mentioned that she serves chili over noodles, I was intrigued. We always serve our chili straight up with cornbread or tortilla chips on the side, but I had to try this new way, and the results were what inspired this chili mac from my cookbook “Mostly Veggies.”

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Is it chili? Is it mac and cheese? It’s the best of both worlds, and it’s surprisingly healthy and packed with veggies!

I love my slow cooker! It’s so convenient to throw ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and have a delicious, healthy meal ready to eat at the end of the day. You are more than welcome to cook dried beans from scratch, but that usually involves soaking and long cook times. For that reason, I’m a big fan of using canned beans for easy meals.

Slow Cooker Chili Mac

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen sweet corn kernels

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (8-ounce) box chickpea elbow pasta noodles

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for serving (plant-based, if needed)

Sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions

This image released by Voracious shows a recipe for chili combined with mac and cheese from Brittany Mullins’ cookbook “Mostly Veggies.” (Kristin Teig/Voracious via AP)

1. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, beans, corn, tomatoes and their juices, broth, and seasonings to a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

2. Add the pasta, cover, and continue cooking on low for 20 minutes, until the pasta is cooked through. Add the cheese and stir to combine.

3. Serve immediately. Evenly divide the chili mac into six bowls, top with more cheese and green onions. Or, to meal prep, evenly divide the chili mac into six meal prep containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to serve, reheat the chili mac in a saucepan over medium heat until warm throughout, 5 to 10 minutes, or in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve topped with more cheese and green onions.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 1/6 recipe ‘ Calories: 424 ‘ Carbohydrates: 59g ‘ Protein: 25g ‘ Fat: 13g ‘ Fiber: 14g ‘ Sugar: 7g

This cookbook cover image released by Voracious shows “Mostly Veggies” by Brittany Mullins. (Kristin Teig/Voracious via AP)

Brittany Mullins is a recipe developer, photographer, and founder of Eating Bird Food, a website where she shares simple, nutrient-dense recipes. She has a marketing degree, a health coaching certification, and lives with her husband, two children and pup in Richmond, Virginia.

Excerpted from “Mostly Veggies” by Brittany Mullins. Copyright (copyright) 2023 by Brittany Mullins. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

When the Latino Economic Development Center in St. Paul surveyed its members in January, it found 44% had temporarily closed. Fewer than 20% were operating normally, and 28% were open with limitations, such as shortened hours.

Some 40% of business owners said they would still be viable if they could count on outside support such as grants and donations. About a fourth said they were only viable after downsizing their staff, and 9% were considering “exit strategies,” or closing for good.

Alarmed by those and similar findings, the St. Paul Area Chamber, Minneapolis Regional Chamber and a dozen additional Twin Cities economic development organizations have assembled an online listing of organizations collecting donations to support small businesses during Operation Metro Surge.

The listing is online at WeLoveTC.com.

Among other resources, the website includes links to legal guidance for employers from Hospitality Minnesota and additional business coalitions.

In St. Paul, the Latino Economic Development Center is working with the East Side Funders Group to back immigrant-owned businesses on the city’s East Side with cash grants. The goal is to raise $2 million by March 1 for rent relief, payroll and loan debt service. More information is online at LEDCMN.org.

Additional organizations collecting donations for small business grants include the Constellation Immediate Response Fund, MainStreet Alliance’s Open for Tomorrow Small Business Fund and the Minneapolis Foundation’s Salt Cure Restaurant Recovery Fund.

GiveMn.org has assembled a “Community Response” webpage with listings of front-line community organizations throughout Minnesota assisting the public, including food shelves, nonprofit legal aids and social service providers.

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