What is the Dead Internet Theory?

Edmund_McGowan · 7:01AM

Theorists and theories spread over the Wi-Fi spectrum like wildfire. It seems like every other day a new conspiracy is born. Is the internet no longer real? Was it ever real in the first place? Are the robots taking over? What about cute cats with human backstories, lizard people, and adrenochrome? We, the people, demand answers to these questions.

Be seated. Calm and collected reasoning is called for, and that’s exactly what you’ll find here today in Acer Corner’s discussion of the dead internet theory.

First of all, the internet is not yet dead or completely controlled by bots. The words you are reading were written with two human hands. If you’ve heard about the dead internet theory on Facebook or elsewhere and want to get to the bottom of this mystery, then read on. In this article we’ll navigate the murky shallows of the dead internet theory and see if we can make sense of what’s going on online!

The bot infestation, explained

Perhaps you’re feeling a bit paranoid right now, even pondering whether this is a real, human written article? Or maybe you just want to get to the bottom of the dead internet theory?

Even if you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ll likely be aware of the rampant rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in all things internet. Unsurprisingly, AI is at the helm of the dead internet theory. At its core, the dead internet theory proposes that:

AI bots, algorithmically curated search results, and AI generated content has greatly displaced organic human internet users, content, and traffic.
A coordinated effort by the U.S. government, corporations, and other state actors, this gaslighting is designed to control the human population.

You may have encountered some of the results of this proliferation of AI generated content, or slop on Facebook, X, TikTok, and other platforms. AI generated spam posts, from culinary feats to impossible wood carvings are everywhere. Alongside the inane, impressive, and insane content, you’ll find AI generated replies of the same ilk. Unrelated clickbait and spam replies render reply chains meaningless, endless exchanges between the bot swarm.

What hatched the dead internet theory?

In common with many theories, the dead intent theory has murky origins. Dredge the chummed depths of 4chan, Wizardchan and other boards, and you’ll find rumblings proposing that the internet is dead or fake have been circulating since the mid 2010s.

Jumping forward to 2021, a post from IlluminatiPirate on the Agora Road’s Macintosh Cafe forum entitled: Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake claimed that: “Large proportions of the supposedly human-produced content on the internet are actually generated by artificial intelligence networks in conjunction with paid secret media influencers in order to manufacture consumers for an increasing range of newly-normalized cultural products.”

IlluminatiPirate’s post describing the theory was written about later that year in The Atlantic by Kaitlyn Tiffany. Her article Maybe You Missed It, but the Internet ‘Died’ Five Years Ago helped the dead internet theory reach a wider audience.

A dark forecast

Remember, both of these pieces were written before the commercial release of ChatGPT, and other LLMs that have followed in its wake. In 2024, the suggestion that AI has overwhelmed most human online activity, mutating the web into a more regimented, algorithm controlled creature existing solely to promote products and ideas may be truer than we’d care to think.

Dark government forces and secret media influencers behind newly normalized cultural products is somewhat beyond the scope of this article, so let’s move on to discuss the tangible effects of the dead internet theory.

Who’s at the driving wheel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M93UWv-9Vfg

There are several primary driving factors of the dead internet theory. Firstly, it’s undeniable that there are far more bots than before. By before, we mean the golden age of the internet in the 1990s to early 2000s. Through increasingly rose-tinted spectacles, many users look back on this period as a time when people actually interacted online and content was created by humans, for humans.

In stark contrast, proponents of the dead internet theory claim the internet today is dominated by algorithmically created content with the sole goal of engagement and profitability. Low quality bot generated content from news articles, to product reviews and, of course, endless comments are now the mainstay of platforms like Facebook, X, and Google.

Step into the slop

Whether you buy into political aspects of the theory or not, the impact of bots and AI on internet culture today should not be underestimated. Anyone with a computer, an internet connection, and an idea can access LLMs to create images and videos of literally anything from cute cats to trash filled city streets. AI generated content can then be endlessly reposted by bots.

User experiences have clearly been marred by the rapid spread of AI-generated content and bots commenting on the slop. Meta has taken steps to label images that users post to Facebook, Instagram and Threads by detecting AI images using industry standard indicators. Many younger internet users who’ve grown up among six-fingered AI humans have learned to quickly distinguish between real and AI generated content. For many older users however, identifying the real from the generated in the AI wasteland can prove challenging.

Opening a can of spam

The increasingly impersonal and corporate state of the internet today means that for many of us, the internet, as it once was, is dead. Bots, spam accounts, virtual influencers, and the slop they spread is here to stay. AI-generated content is now an integral part of the mainstream. Regardless of their age, internet users must adapt to this new normal, and learn to navigate through the slop.

Content made by real people is unmistakably human in its observations, humor, and subject matter. Like seagulls trailing a fishing boat, popular human made content is inevitably followed by the bot swarm. Internet users need to be aware of this phenomenon, and where possible, do their part to make the internet human again, for who knows what the future holds?