Dead internet theory
Most of it’s fake now, but your edge is being real. Read time: 5 mins Hi Reader, If you’ve ever walked a city street so late at night that it’s very early in the morning, you may have had a strange thought. In the eerie stillness, it can feel for a moment as though you’re the only person in the world. The usual crowds are gone, and the absence of what should be there is impossible to ignore, until some other person, off to start their working day, breaks the spell. Phew. The world is still there. It is hard, in any real-world city, to maintain the illusion of being the only person for any length of time. Yes, even in Manresa. But the internet is different. There is always an element of unreality to an online interaction with another human: how do we know for sure that they are who they say they are? Can we be certain they’re even actually a person? This idea sits at the core of what became known as the Dead Internet Theory, the belief that the web is now so saturated with AI-generated content, bots, and synthetic personas that genuine human presence is becoming rare, and possibly even obsolete. This newsletter explores that idea. Because if you rely on the internet to learn, create, connect, teach, or earn, it’s worth understanding how much of what you interact with might no longer be real. Many people don’t notice the shift. They keep scrolling. They keep sharing. And they wonder why their work is ignored, their trust is fading, or their feeds feel lifeless. This issue is about noticing the shift, so you can do something about it. From the experts“The average person has no idea just how much of the content they consume… is AI.” — Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder (2025) “In 2024 … the opposite has happened: the robots are posting like people.” — Alex Hern, The Guardian TechScape, 30 Apr 2024 “To the machine, it’s all slop pushed through the pipes and splattered out the other end.” — Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 9 Aug 2024 “Deepfakes are very concerning … We used to trust video and voice. That’s just not the case anymore.” — Amy Cyphert, West Virginia University, 26 Mar 2024 “On Medium we found 47% likely AI-generated posts — ‘a couple orders of magnitude’ above the rest of the internet.” — Max Spero, CEO Pangram Labs, quoted in Wired, 28 Oct 2024 AI slop & bot flood
Human-created content gets buried.
The truth crisis
Where trust breaks, so does cooperation. When platforms fail to tell the difference between real and fake, we all pay the price. Video below by @eattheethos on IG New tools, new risksAs a creator, I find Veo 3 thrilling. ![]() But it is also scary af. It cost me around €3 to create the video above. We’ve reached a point where belief no longer comes from seeing. The tools are here. Now it’s up to us to decide with our actions and how we spend our attention, how we use and regulate it. Human authenticity as a brand assetOn a more positive note: If everything starts to feel synthetic, being human becomes a differentiator. People are seeking signals that say:
The most underrated way to stand out is to... be human. Escape the algorithm A selection of links to fill up your browser tab with. Article: Humans now share the web equally with bots, report warns amid fears of the ‘dead internet’ - The Independent, April 2024 Article: AI chatbots are intruding into online communities where people are trying to connect with other humans - The Conversation, May 2024 Article: On the internet, where does the line between person end and bot begin? - The Guardian, April 2024 Article: Is anyone out there? - Prospect, September 2024 Video: Someone's school project... Video: AI Slop: Last Week with John Oliver Reminder: Your brain knows the difference. Invest in real connection. If you got this far, you're part of 68% of subscribers, so thank you, Reader. Try this this week:
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