"tale as old as time" is a Hyperbole, a way of saying, “this pattern keeps happening”

Spoiler: Here are 10 examples

1. The Printing Press and Religious Propaganda (1400s)
When movable type spread across Europe, it didn’t just print Bibles. It printed polemics. During the Reformation, pamphlets were mass-produced to inflame fears, spread conspiracy, and rally mobs. Early adopters realized persuasion at scale was now possible. Print became the original viral medium.

2. Joint-Stock Companies and Colonial Extraction (1600s)
This was financial technology. The joint-stock model allowed investors to pool risk and fund global ventures. It also enabled monopolies, violent resource extraction, and economic domination across India and beyond. Corporate structure as a power amplifier.

3. Telegraph Market Manipulation (1800s)
Before the telegraph, news traveled by horse. With it, financial information moved nearly instantly. Traders who got access to telegraph lines earlier than others could arbitrage markets. Information asymmetry became literal speed advantage.

4. Early Railroads and Land Speculation Schemes (1800s)
Rail expansion created speculative bubbles. Insiders with knowledge of planned routes bought land cheaply and resold it at massive profit once tracks were laid. Infrastructure as insider leverage.

5. Radio Propaganda (1930s)
Radio created emotional, real-time mass persuasion. Totalitarian regimes used it to amplify nationalist messaging and manipulate populations. The first truly immersive mass psychological tool.

6. Television Televangelism (1970s–80s)
Satellite TV allowed religious programming to scale nationally. Some early televangelists exploited viewers through financial schemes, emotional manipulation, and false promises. Technology plus trust equals power.

7. Cold Calling and Boiler Rooms (1980s–90s)
High-volume phone systems and data lists enabled aggressive stock pump-and-dump operations. Early adoption of automated dialing and list segmentation created industrialized financial scams.

8. Email Phishing (1990s–2000s)
As soon as email scaled, so did impersonation. “Nigerian prince” scams and bank phishing exploited unfamiliarity with digital communication. Again, knowledge asymmetry.

9. Social Media Microtargeting (2000s–2010s)
Behavioral data combined with algorithmic targeting allowed highly personalized political persuasion. Early data modelers understood how to influence opinion clusters before the public understood the mechanics.

10. Cryptocurrency Rug Pulls (2017–present) This one is not that long ago and something we all saw happen in real time.....
Blockchain was revolutionary. It also enabled token launches with minimal oversight. Early adopters created hype cycles, inflated valuations, then disappeared with investor funds. Same pattern: complexity plus excitement equals vulnerability.

Its not just tribal human nature. Even monkeys do it:

its structural. New technology lowers friction. Early adopters gain asymmetry. Asymmetry creates opportunity. Sometimes that opportunity is used ethically. Sometimes it isn’t.

Different eras. Different tools. Same incentive structures operating under new constraints.

 

You could say the same with pressing generate on a song on suno and posting it. Or you could use it as a tool its 50+ different ways that other music tools cant.

Im saying if the original op can complain about the "TEMU" plugins. He also has access to the same lower level of entry to create his ideas as the people he is complaining about. He is saying that they are doing 10 seconds of prompting. He can do the same low lift as them or do 20 seconds of prompting (being sarcastic) and spend some time and make something better. Or just prompt what he is complaining about and give it out for free to undercut the problem of them charging 99 bucks for.

Slop music, slop plugins, slop art existed before AI made it so the layman could participate in the race.

This era is empowering. When a music maker who has no coding skills can now fix a problem they have always wanted fixed with natural language. Its been said many times but this is the worst this tech will be. Im looking forward to the tools that will be coming out in this new landscape. The ones buried in the noise of the slop just like before.

 

The real ask is why is this junk showing up on the scene and sisite in the first place Seems like spinning ones wheels even giving that stuff a second look to crack and release it is a complete waste of witches time and ours...

 

Last edited: Feb 20, 2026 at 9:24 PM

Already done, and done...

 

Are there any examples of these plugins? From this thread it seems like there are hundreds that have been released, with half of them having made it to the sister site. I can think of two on sister site that i believe to have been vibe coded.

 

You can already see where some of this is headed though, with the idea of "pedigree" mentioned already. If some "legacy developer" like Waves or Fabfilter begin using AI to code, that's ok because they are "allowed to". Any new developer, obviously are just a scam artist. David Guetta uses a cloned vocal from a famous rapper, no big deal. He's "allowed to". Hollywood does it in a film, that's great; but if an indie film uses it, "they are cheating".

The amazing part is that rather than see technology as an equalizer of sorts, they will actually repeat these "slop" comments all over the internet because they read someone say it. It's kind of embarrassing. Big money music industry machine "labels" are going to have no problem with it. Some technology is too powerful for the proletariat.

Once you step back, the technology is neutral, but gatekeepers decide who’s “allowed.” People parrot these narratives blindly, shaping who’s “legit” and who’s “cheating,” rarely questioning who’s pushing the story, or how it actually affects them.

The same old hierarchies keep getting recycled ad nauseum.

 

I don't disagree with the sentiment of the post. I think it's the utmost in irony that you used AI to write it.

 

The irony of a post complaining about AI being mostly written by AI.

 

You asserted... now support it with EXAMPLES.

 

It could be seen sure as "democratisation" of the "tools", bit same thing that happened with music in 90s, early 2000s when music recording software enabled anybody to make recordings cheaply at home. “Vibe coding” is very plausibly the music production moment of software development. Of course music and software are quite different things though. More noise coming is for sure!

 

I apologize, but English is not my native language. I used DeepL to refine my original text to ensure I am clearly understood and to avoid errors.

It is news to me that using a translation tool is now equated with the work of "pseudo-developers" and their simplistic plugins.

I use DeepL daily as a legitimate support tool and for learning purposes.

 

This is called a free market economy; anyone in the world can offer a product or service on the marketplace as long as they comply with applicable laws. The only thing you can do as a consumer is not to buy it! What you can do as a blogger or forum member is to warn others.

 

Here we go with another AI generated thread cursing AI to grab likes and attention. One of the reasons i'm spending less time here.

 

Your not the only one. A couple of great minds and contributors have been spending less time around here for the same reason. We miss you! I always loved your insight and techniques shared.