--- title: "“Slop Grenades”: Shopify CEO Who Pushed Staff to Use AI Is Now Horrified by What He’s Wrought" description: "Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke is getting a first-hand look at the AI-workplace revolution, and it isn't a pretty sight." date: "2026-09-19" modified: "2026-09-19" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/shopify-ceo-ai-workplace-staff-horrified-backfire" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Machine Learning" --- # “Slop Grenades”: Shopify CEO Who Pushed Staff to Use AI Is Now Horrified by What He’s Wrought ![Tobias Lutke, founder and chief executive officer of Shopify Inc.]() *Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Futurism* Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke is getting a first-hand look at the AI-workplace revolution, and it isn't a pretty sight. New reporting [by *Fortune*]() revealed the disastrous results of Shopify's all-out scramble to embrace AI nearly a year ago. After telling workers that using AI tools is a "baseline expectation" in the workplace, Lütke is now changing his tune as workers spew out AI-generated emails, memos, and code without double-checking it beforehand. "We call those 'slop grenades' that people toss at each other," Lütke said in an interview on [the *Knowledge Project* podcast](). "That's definitely a bad thing." The CEO further explained that the initiative incentivized workers to "go nuts" on AI, leading to a deluge of AI generated slop. "You don't really read it, and now it has to be reviewed by your colleagues, and they are like, 'this doesn't look right,'" he complained. "You're just letting AI do the work for you." As ironic as it may be for the once-AI-happy Shopify exec, he's far from alone. An [April survey]() of 1,150 office workers found that 40 percent had encountered a phenomenon known as "workslop," or AI-generated content that looks professional on the surface but lacks any actual substance. Estimates found workers already waste 3.4 hours a month cleaning up the AI schlock, amounting to a monthly loss of $8.1 million for a workplace with 10,000 employees. Another [survey]() from earlier in September found that negative sentiments around AI in workplace have exploded over the past few years, with the majority of workers now expressing negative attitudes toward the tech. Whatever way you slice it, it's clear that AI is not a catch-all for workplace productivity — an obnoxious lesson Shopify's Lütke had to learn the hard way. **More on AI:** *[AI Really Is Eviscerating Entry-Level Jobs, New Data Shows]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()