Dead Internet theory

The dead Internet theory is an online conspiracy theory that asserts that the Internet now consists almost entirely of bot activity and automatically generated content that is manipulated by algorithmic curation, marginalizing organic human activity. These intelligent bots are assumed to have been made, in part, to help manipulate algorithms and boost search results in order to ultimately manipulate consumers. Further, proponents of the theory accuse government agencies of using bots to manipulate public perception. The date given for this "death" is generally around 2016 or 2017. The dead Internet theory emerged as a theoretical concept in the late 2010s or early 2020s. While the exact origins of the theory are difficult to pinpoint, some point to a thread titled "Dead Internet Theory: Most Of The Internet Is Fake" on the forum Agora Road's Macintosh Cafe in 2021 as the origin of the term. However, discussions and debates surrounding the theory have been prevalent in online forums, technology conferences, and academic circles, possibly since earlier. It was inspired by concerns about the Internet's increasing complexity, dependence on fragile infrastructure, potential cyberattack vulnerabilities, and most importantly, the exponential increase in artificial intelligence capabilities and use. The theory gained traction in discussions among technology enthusiasts, researchers, and futurists who sought to explore the potential risks associated with our reliance on the Internet. The conspiracy theory has entered public culture through widespread coverage, and has been discussed on various high-profile YouTube channels. It gained more mainstream attention with an article in The Atlantic titled "Maybe You Missed It, but the Internet 'Died' Five Years Ago". This article has been widely cited by other articles on the topic. Large language model Generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) are a type of large language model (LLM) that employ artificial neural networks to produce human-like content.