Your AI-pilled coworker is getting a bit\u2026 meaty.<\/p>\n
Many office workers know what it’s like to be inundated with unreviewed AI outputs<\/a>. Maybe you have a coworker who pastes messages from ChatGPT right into Slack. Maybe your manager keeps using too many em-dashes, or your direct report can’t explain the code they just shipped.<\/p>\n There’s a new word for these AI users: “meat proxy.”<\/p>\n Techies on X are calling them “very annoying” and “the first ones to be replaced.” For some, being a meat proxy might even be the “biggest career risk of 2026.”<\/p>\n What is a meat proxy?<\/p>\n The term “meat proxy” was popularized by Niklas Gruhn, a German software engineer, in an August 3 blog post. Gruhn wrote that his friends were quoting Claude in his Slack channels and group chats.<\/p>\n “This is not adding value,” Gruhn wrote. “I can talk to Claude myself. It’s going to be faster and I get to control the context. I don’t need a meat proxy in between.”<\/p>\n The “in between” here is key. A meat proxy merely serves as a middleman between the AI chatbot and the recipient. They don’t review, digest, or analyze the AI output. They just copy-paste.<\/p>\n Some big names in tech quickly signed on. Simon Willison<\/a> called it an “excellent new term.” Gruhn’s post on Hacker News racked up over 700 comments. Mehul Agarwal added it to his tech dictionary, SF-isms.<\/p>\n A screenshot of the definition is circulating on X, and AI lovers and haters alike are adding in their own commentary.<\/p>\n “Asking something to a meat proxy is exactly same as asking claude,” wrote Blinkit engineer Ratul Dawar. “They add no value but yet survive because many times claude works just fine.”<\/p>\n One techie<\/a> came up with another name: “Human chatGPT wrapper.”<\/p>\n Don’t be a Meat Proxy.<\/p>\n Have strong opinions about architecture, design, reliability, yet stay open minded and research quickly.<\/p>\n Argue with people, reframe with machines, provide actionable comments.<\/p>\n And most importantly, take responsibility & ownership of your work.<\/p>\n Otherwise\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/QrU16HWd0j<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tommy Zinnatullin (@artem_zin) August 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Stopping the slop<\/p>\n AI slop is everywhere. It’s infiltrating our social media feeds and kids’ cartoons<\/a>. LinkedIn recently added a “seems like AI slop button,” and its product executive says it’s worked wonders<\/a>.<\/p>\n The term “meat proxy” is another sign of that frustration. One commenter recommended changing the term to “slopper.”<\/p>\n