The internet has a slop problem, and for once, it isn't AI's fault. The cybersecurity panic dubbed "Black October" has triggered warnings about AI-powered hackers and digital collapse, leading some to advise stockpiling cash and canned food. However, the root cause is not new AI-generated code, but decades of neglected human software vulnerabilities. The internetโ€™s infrastructure is crumbling under the weight of its own history, and AI is merely the flashlight exposing the cracks.

The Myth of the AI Villain

For years, companies accepted security risks to save time and money, assuming exploiting obscure weaknesses required rare expertise. Joel de la Garza and Zane Lackey, partners at a16z, noted that risk acceptance processes morphed from business enablers into excuses for never fixing security issues. AI models have shattered this assumption by hunting weaknesses at speeds humans cannot match, turning previously manageable gambles into urgent crises.

Human Slop vs. AI Persistence

The irony is palpable: we spent years worrying about "AI slop," only to discover human slop is far more consequential. Software engineer Ben Kaufman highlighted on X that the crisis stems from old human code, not new AI output. Tech founder Anant Jain added that if we held human code review to the same bar as AI, weโ€™d admit we havenโ€™t been good at it either. Humans get tired, cut corners on Fridays, and declare projects "90% done." AI agents donโ€™t have dinner parties; they persist until they find the flaw.

The Tragedy of the Commons in Open Source

Much of the internet runs on freely available software maintained by volunteers or small groups, a dynamic Randall Munroe famously illustrated in his xkcd comics. The PHP Foundation acknowledged that limited resources and disagreements delayed fixes for flaws exposed this week. This is a classic tragedy of the commons: everyone benefits from shared infrastructure, but no single entity feels responsible for its maintenance. Large tech companies benefit disproportionately from this volunteer labor while underfunding its upkeep.

A Path Forward: Consortiums and Maintenance

Tom Occhino, Chief Product Officer at Vercel, suggests the industry needs a consortium to fund efforts identifying and replacing vulnerable software. While nothing is formally announced, the idea aligns with initiatives like OpenAIโ€™s Patch the Planet. Occhino argues companies must stop chasing new features and start asking how to make existing systems "just work really, really well." The solution isnโ€™t panicking about collapse, but using AI to repair the human neglect that built the web.

Key Takeaways

  • "Black October" vulnerabilities are primarily legacy human code, not AI-generated slop.
  • AI tools are accelerating the discovery of long-ignored security flaws.
  • Open source maintenance is a tragedy of the commons, with volunteers bearing the burden for corporate benefit.
  • Industry leaders like Vercelโ€™s Tom Occhino are proposing coalitions to fund security remediation.

The Bottom Line

We cannot blame AI for the state of our digital infrastructure. It is time for the tech industry to stop treating maintenance as an afterthought and start funding the repair of the human-made slop that underpins the web.