Dead internet theory: Is the web controlled by bots and robots?

A. dead internet theory It’s a kind of conspiracy theory that appeared on the internet a few years ago and wasn’t taken very seriously. He basically argued that: Soon there will be no more human interaction on the internet: Everything will be produced through algorithms and robots.

Although this idea may seem absurd to some, the truth is that there are some new facts, including the recent rise. Artificial intelligence – revived this debate. So is there evidence that the theory may be true?

What is the Dead Internet Theory?

It is unknown exactly where this theory originated, but it is estimated that it may have emerged as a concept on 4chan or Wizarchan in the late 2010s. In 2021, a topic called “Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake” emerged. Posted on Agora Road’s Macintosh Cafe forum and started bringing up this discussion online.

In short, the idea of ​​​​this theory is that a time will come (there was even a date for “death”: the year 2016). Almost everything that travels on the network, such as images, text and videos, robots. The theory relates to fears raised by the increasing complexity of the internet, cyber attacks, and the increasing digital presence of robots and intelligent algorithms.

In other words, Dead Internet Theory advocates the idea that: boots will soon completely replace human activity on Earth online. However, although it is a conspiracy theory that is not based on empirical data, the truth is that we see an increasing amount of content produced by robots and published on the internet. So it’s even natural for these ideas to re-emerge, for example, as a way of dealing with the fear caused by AI and trying to create some kind of control over that fear.

News and articles created by Robot

In May 2023, a report by NewsGuard and MIT Tech Review revealed data that shocked many people: In an analysis to evaluate the trustworthiness of news websites, the tool identified 49 portals publishing materials and articles, all written by AI. In other words, how much news and various texts not produced by humans made users believe this.

A number of signs are even listed to help emphasize that man is constantly being replaced by the machine. Between them:

• Increasing presence of robot interactions posts, to give the impression of an engagement, even if it is fake;
• technology deepfakecapable of creating fake images and sounds that mimic a real person;
• Tips for buying followers boots;
• Ads created and distributed by robots;
• Algorithms that can identify user tastes and use this information to distribute content;
• people like influencers and models created with artificial intelligence.

We can say that different artificial intelligence technologies affect and reignite this fear. We will all become almost obsolete on the internet.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence

The truth is that the gradual rise of artificial intelligence has drastically changed the way we look at digital. One of the changing aspects is that our internet browsing experience is becoming increasingly personalized. Algorithms, among other elements (such as virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa), have made the delivery of once broad and inclusive content increasingly targeted to our predetermined tastes and trends.

In other words, the internet has become less pluraland the automation of these processes through artificial intelligence means that this trend is likely to increase further. And of course this could potentially be negative. Remember that AI tools are nothing more than technologies trained on human intelligence, and for this very reason they tend to reproduce the same biases and problems that are present in the people who program them.

Finally, it is important to remember that the increase in robots raises legitimate fears in people (for example, that many jobs and functions will be shut down). A fear floating around (and, it’s worth remembering, it’s based in reality) is that artificial intelligence created by humans could lead to widespread unemployment in the future.

Due to these various aspects, The dead internet theory seems to recall and embody the fears we all have and experience in the face of the digital world – which is scary in many ways.