While Americans Spit on AI “Slop,” China Teaches It in Every School

“THIS IS F***ING AI SLOP!”

That’s how one reviewer on Goodreads recently described a children's cookbook generated with AI assistance. They fumed:

“There are pictures of food in here but none of them are real… The recipes are not well-organized… I’ve seen the same shit in his ‘Asian cookbook.’”

You’d think the author had personally stolen their grandmother’s rolling pin. And it would be funny — if it weren’t such a revealing symptom of something deeper. Because while Americans rage against pixel-perfect dumplings and typo-free ingredient lists, a very different storm is brewing across the Pacific.

Meanwhile in Beijing…

This September, over 1,400 schools in Beijing rolled out mandatory AI education for every grade level. Every single student — from finger-painting first graders to algorithm-wielding teenagers — now gets at least 8 lessons per year on artificial intelligence.

That’s right: while someone in Ohio is screaming about "slop machines," six-year-olds in Beijing are already drawing with generative AI during music class.

Here’s what China is doing that America isn’t:

• Grades 1–3: Kids explore AI through games, literature, music, and art.

• Grade 4 onward: They learn how AI impacts daily life.

• High school: Students start writing algorithms and building their own projects.

• Cross-discipline integration: AI is now part of biology, art, and even filmmaking classes.

• Smart classrooms: Schools are being equipped with AI-powered teaching terminals.

And by 2035, China plans to be a fully AI-integrated “intelligent economy.”

Let’s Be Honest: It’s Not About Slop

The problem with AI books isn’t the content — most of it is just fine, especially when tailored to educational use, home cooking, or exploration. The problem is pride.

People who spent years collecting cookbooks, writing lesson plans, or curating blog posts feel threatened. Suddenly, someone who doesn’t know the difference between cumin and caraway can generate a 90-recipe volume overnight — with illustrations.

But instead of asking how we might harness this new ability — like China does — Americans dismiss it as trash, simply because it wasn’t typed by a human hand.

It's a digital version of the old “real men chop wood” fallacy: if it’s not labor-intensive, it must be worthless.

Children Deserve Better Than AI Fearmongering

The Beijing model isn’t about indoctrinating kids into loving robots. It’s about literacy — a literacy of the future.

Just like reading and math, AI is a new language, and the earlier kids start learning to read it, the less likely they’ll grow up confused, angry, or easily manipulated by it.

American children aren’t behind because they’re less capable — they’re behind because adults are more afraid.

The Real Slop Is Stagnation

Cookbooks, Classrooms, and Civilizations

While American reviewers melt down over an AI-generated jambalaya, Chinese students are learning how to design autonomous farming systems and compose music with neural networks. One side is debating definitions; the other is writing the future.

By 2035, China plans to become a full-fledged “intelligent economy.” AI won’t be a tool there — it’ll be an assumption. If the U.S. doesn’t want to fall behind, it must overcome its AI phobia — not just in policy circles, but in everyday culture. In cookbooks. In schools. In art. In parenting.

It’s time to stop shouting “AI slop!”
And start asking: What can our children build with it?

If you’re upset that a children’s cookbook was generated by a machine, ask yourself: did it nourish a curious mind? Did it inspire a child to cook? Did it encourage a homeschooling parent to explore new cultures?

That’s more than most “human-authored” influencer cookbooks can say.

As AI becomes embedded in everything from climate modeling to cancer diagnostics to classroom art — the real question isn’t whether to use AI. The question is:

Will we be the ones training it — or the ones whining about it?