Topline<\/p>\n
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman have warned on social media in recent weeks of the \u201cDead Internet Theory,\u201d an idea that the internet is dominated by bot activity instead of humans\u2014but experts who once dismissed the idea as a conspiracy theory are warning it may actually be legitimate amid the rise of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian warned of the “dead internet theory” in a post on X on Sunday. (Photo by Emilee Chinn\/Athlos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this the time where, yet again, I remind y’all about Dead Internet Theory?\u201d Ohanian said Sunday in a post<\/a> on X, quoting another post<\/a> about how many Reddit users were duped by a weekly series of posts about an overweight cat on a weight loss journey named \u201cPound Cake,\u201d only to find the cat was actually AI generated.<\/p>\n Ohanian has become increasingly vocal about the Dead Internet Theory in recent months, warning in a post<\/a> on X in June that \u201cit\u2019s not *if* most of what we see online will be AI-generated. It\u2019s that it already is.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohanian said at a Wall Street Journal panel<\/a> in June he has \u201clong subscribed to the dead internet theory,\u201d acknowledging it was regarded as a conspiracy theory a decade ago but is now \u201ca very real thing\u201d because of the proliferation of bots on social media as well as humans using AI to create and amplify content.<\/p>\n Altman<\/a> has also warned about the Dead Internet Theory, writing in a post on X in September he \u201cnever took the dead internet theory that seriously but it seems like there are really a lot of LLM-run twitter accounts now.\u201d<\/p>\n Big Number<\/p>\n 51%. That\u2019s the percentage of internet traffic that was generated by bots, as opposed to humans, in 2024, according to cybersecurity company Imperva<\/a>. The total was the first time in a decade bot activity surpassed that of humans, which the firm attributed to the \u201crise of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), which have simplified the creation and scaling of bots for malicious purposes.\u201d <\/p>\n What Do Experts Say About The Dead Internet Theory?<\/p>\n Before the proliferation of large language models, some dismissed the Dead Internet Theory as having little merit, though some experts in recent years have said the theory is more plausible amid the rise of AI. In 2021, Caroline Busta, who founded New Models, a German firm that studies the impact of technology on culture, told The Atlantic<\/a>\u2014in an article titled \u201cThe \u2018Dead Internet Theory\u2019 Is Wrong But Feels True\u201d\u2014elements of the Dead Internet Theory are \u201cparanoid fantasy,\u201d though she agreed with the \u201coverarching idea\u201d the internet feels more \u201cempty\u201d than a decade ago. A team of researchers from Swiss universities published a paper<\/a> last year examining the Dead Internet Theory, stating it \u201cused to be rather speculative\u201d 10 years ago but \u201cwith the wake of generative AI, it can now be observed first-hand.\u201d The researchers said internet users now have a harder time differentiating between human-created and AI-generated content, citing the rise of deepfake videos. The researchers added that social media has become \u201cless about connecting humans to other people but about consuming content and getting hooked by deliberately targeted dopamine hits in our brains,\u201d also citing generative AI used by retail companies to sell products. Jake Renzella, a University of New South Wales computer science lecturer, and Vlada Rozova, a University of Melbourne machine learning fellow, published an article describing a \u201cvicious cycle of artificial engagement,\u201d noting AI bots can create artificially generated images that are boosted and reposted by other AI-powered accounts, a cycle that \u201cno longer involves humans at all.\u201d They cited bizarre viral posts<\/a> like \u201cShrimp Jesus,\u201d an AI-generated image that went viral on Facebook in 2024. The Guardian<\/a> technology editor Alex Hern also blamed Elon Musk\u2019s X for exacerbating the phenomenon, noting Musk made it so verified accounts earn more money for higher rates of engagement, stating he \u201cmade it profitable to buy a blue checkmark, attach it to a large language model, and set it running wild replying to viral content.\u201d<\/p>\n Surprising Fact<\/p>\n A team of researchers<\/a> from the University of Zurich deployed AI-generated bots onto a popular subreddit, r\/changemyview, to study whether the bots could successfully cause people to change their minds on contentious topics, but Reddit responded by threatening legal action. The researchers\u2019 work was never published. <\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n The \u201cdead internet theory\u201d had gone viral on forums like Reddit and other websites in the late 2010s and early 2020s. One post<\/a> on an online forum by a user named IlluminatiPirate, viewed more than 362,000 times and cited by The Atlantic, laid out an elaborate theory about the death of the internet. The user said the internet is \u201cempty and devoid of people,\u201d and that most of the \u201csupposedly human-produced content\u201d is generated by AI. The Atlantic<\/a> also reported the Dead Internet Theory garnered attention in other online forums, like the subreddit for popular podcaster Joe Rogan, subreddits about paranormal activity and on a forum for fans of Linus Tech Tips, a popular YouTube technology-focused channel.<\/p>\n Further Reading<\/p>\n Maybe You Missed It, but the Internet \u2018Died\u2019 Five Years Ago<\/a> (The Atlantic)<\/p>\n