By Vicky Sidler | Published 29 January 2026 at 12:00 GMT+2

Somewhere between the launch of ChatGPT and the moment someone asked it to find a security flaw in a 30-year-old codebase, the internet broke a little.

Daniel Stenberg, founder of the open-source tool cURL, just shut down his bug bounty program after getting buried under a landslide of AI-generated nonsense. Think fake bugs, hallucinated functions, and code that wouldn’t compile if you bribed it with caffeine.

According to Ars Technica, Stenberg’s team was spending more time cleaning up after bots than fixing real security issues. And that’s a problem, because cURL isn’t some obscure experiment—it’s built into almost every computer on earth.

TL;DR:

• cURL, a widely used networking tool, just ended its bug bounty program

• Developers were overwhelmed by fake AI-generated vulnerability reports

• The majority of reports came from people using AI tools with no real understanding

• This is a cautionary tale about AI misuse and wasted time, not the end of automation

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Table of Contents:

First, What is cURL and Why Does It Matter?

You’ve probably used cURL without even realising it. It’s like plumbing. Boring to talk about, but everything falls apart without it.

This little command-line tool quietly moves data around behind the scenes. Developers use it to test websites, transfer files, and automate everything from software installs to API requests. It’s built into Windows, macOS, and most versions of Linux. Which means when cURL has a problem, the internet does too.

To keep things secure, Stenberg’s team has long offered cash rewards to researchers who find real bugs. These reports are usually detailed, useful, and submitted by people who know what they’re doing. Until recently.

Enter the Slop Machines:

Over the past year, AI-generated bug reports began flooding the system. At first, it seemed like an honest mistake. But then came the tidal wave of reports referencing fake code snippets, invented vulnerabilities, and changelogs that didn’t match any known version of reality.

When Stenberg’s team pointed this out, the senders doubled down. “But the AI said it was a bug.”

One response from a cURL maintainer summed it up perfectly: “I think you’re a victim of LLM hallucination.”

That’s the polite way of saying, “You sent us garbage in a tuxedo.”

Not All AI Use Is Bad—But Most Of It Is:

To be clear, this isn’t a rant against AI. Stenberg actually praised one researcher who used a proper AI-powered code analyser to find 22 legitimate bugs. That person combined human judgment with powerful tools and delivered results worth rewarding.

But most reports didn’t come from people like that. They came from folks copy-pasting AI output without understanding a single line of what it said.

Instead of helping, they created more work for the very people they were supposedly supporting. It’s like offering to paint someone’s house, then showing up with a leaf blower and powdered cement.

What This Means for Small Business Owners:

At first glance, this sounds like a nerd fight in a dark corner of the internet. But if you run a business, especially a service-based one, this matters more than you think.

Here’s why.

AI isn’t going away. You’ll keep seeing tools promising speed, savings, and simplicity. And to be fair, some of them deliver. But if you take those tools at face value, skip the thinking part, and start using them as a substitute for actual work, you’re going to run into problems fast.

What happened to cURL is already happening in customer service, content creation, and even hiring. Bots are writing messages that sound right but mean nothing. Employees are sending AI-written emails they didn’t read. Entire teams are submitting proposals they barely skimmed.

That kind of slop doesn’t just annoy people. It breaks trust.

Slop Is Cheap. Credibility Isn’t.

The people who maintain cURL didn’t end their bounty program because they’re anti-technology. They ended it because they were wasting hours arguing with people who believed in fake bugs written by machines.

They didn’t have the time, budget, or mental bandwidth to keep pretending every report deserved equal weight.

You don’t either.

In your business, credibility is currency. Whether you’re sending an email, posting to social media, or pitching a client, slop erodes your authority. Fast.

The Lesson Is Simple. Use AI With a Human Brain.

AI is a tool. Not a shortcut past responsibility.

You can use it to help write, explain, brainstorm, or summarise. But if you stop thinking altogether, you’re not delegating—you’re defaulting. And someone else will pay the price.

If that’s your customer, you lose the sale. If it’s your team, you lose momentum. If it’s a trusted industry project like cURL, you might lose the system keeping your business running.

Start With Clarity Before You Scale With AI:

Here’s the truth: AI is most dangerous when paired with fuzzy messaging.

When you’re not clear about what you do or how you help, AI doesn’t fix the confusion. It multiplies it.

That’s why the first thing I recommend—before you create content, respond to leads, or use AI for anything—is to get one clear message that works.

My 5-Minute Marketing Fix walks you through it. Free. Fast. No hallucinations involved.

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Related Articles:

1. AI Workslop Is Wasting Time and Ruining Team Trust

The bug bounty story shows what happens when people blindly trust AI without understanding it. This article shows the same thing happening inside teams—with even messier consequences.

2. Why Replacing Copywriters With AI Will Destroy Your Brand

cURL's meltdown was caused by people outsourcing thinking to bots. This article shows how that same shortcut kills brand trust when applied to copywriting.

3. AI Slop Is Flooding Social Media And Ruining Your Business

Just like cURL’s bug bounty inbox, social media is getting clogged with low-effort AI junk. If you want to stand out, this article shows how to stay real in a fake-sounding feed.

4. Why Privacy Still Matters in the Age of AI

The cURL article covered what happens when you trust AI-generated input. This one flips it—what happens when AI is trained on your input?

5. CMOs Bet Big on Generative AI—Here's What Small Businesses Should Learn

Daniel Stenberg proved quality beats quantity. This article backs it up with how big brands are doing the same—using AI with strategy, not speed.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI Slop and Bug Bounty Chaos

1. What is AI slop?

AI slop refers to low-quality, misleading, or fake content generated by AI tools. In this context, it includes bogus bug reports, hallucinated code snippets, and false security flaws submitted to systems like cURL’s bug bounty program.

2. Why did cURL shut down its bug bounty program?

The cURL team ended the program because they were overwhelmed by fake vulnerability reports, most of which were generated by people using AI without verifying accuracy or understanding the content.

3. What’s wrong with using AI to write bug reports?

Nothing—if you know what you're doing. The problem arises when people blindly copy AI output and submit it without verifying the code, the context, or even if the bug exists.

4. Can AI actually find real bugs in software?

Yes, some AI tools can help trained developers identify real issues. But they work best when used by people who understand the code and how to test it properly. Otherwise, it’s guesswork dressed up as expertise.

5. What’s an LLM hallucination?

A large language model (LLM) hallucination happens when an AI generates content that sounds plausible but is factually untrue—like a fake bug report or invented function name that looks real but isn’t.

6. Why is AI-generated slop a problem for businesses?

It wastes time, damages trust, and creates more work for experts. Whether it's in security, content, or customer service, AI misuse shifts the burden to someone else who has to clean up the mess.

7. How can I use AI responsibly in my small business?

Use AI to support, not replace, human thinking. Let it help you draft, summarise, or brainstorm—but always check the output, especially if it affects your credibility or decision-making.

8. What are the risks of relying too much on AI tools?

You risk sending out inaccurate information, confusing customers, hurting your brand, or wasting internal resources. In some cases, like security or legal content, the consequences can be severe.

9. Is AI still useful if it can make these kinds of mistakes?

Yes, if you treat it like a tool rather than a shortcut. AI works well when paired with human judgment and clear strategy—but left unchecked, it can cause more harm than good.

10. How do I make sure my AI-generated content isn’t slop?

Ask yourself: Does this make sense? Is it accurate? Have I verified the details? If you're unsure, don’t publish it until someone qualified checks it. And if it’s for your business message, start with the5-Minute Marketing Fix to get the clarity you need before hitting generate.