21% of Show HN Sites Have 'Heavy AI Slop' — Deterministic Design Pattern Scanner Analyzed 500 Projects (319pts)

Adrian Krebs / Hacker News (319pts)·medium signal

Adrian Krebs built a headless browser with 15 deterministic checks to score Show HN sites for AI-generated design markers: Inter font headlines, purple gradients, glassmorphism, shadcn/ui components, colored card borders, centered hero layouts. Of 500 sites analyzed, 21% scored as heavy slop (5+ patterns), 46% mild (2-4), and 33% clean. The surge in AI-designed submissions prompted HN moderators to restrict access for new accounts.