The Dead Internet Theory is an online conspiracy theory that asserts much of today’s internet activity is generated by bots and AI rather than real people.
This week, Chase, Harper, and Alexander break down Dead Internet Theory, why it’s important, and what it means to create in the age of AI.
This is The Furious Curious podcast, where we explore culture to inspire creators.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:20 - Definition
06:00 - Examples
07:40 - Suspending Disbelief
10:10 - Youth and the Digital World
12:30 - Downsides
13:20 - What the Bots Say About the Bots
14:20 - Hypotheticals
15:20 - The Alternatives That May Re-emerge
19:05 - Reasons Why: A Premium on Human-Made
21:40 - Reasons Why: The Rise of Large Language Models (LLMs)
23:15 - Reasons Why: The ’16 Election
24:20 - Media Literacy
26:10 - The Evolution of Twitter (X)
27:15 - “The Inversion”
29:40 - Reasons Why: Do Social Media Companies Love Bots?
31:10 - Reasons Why: The Rise of Fake Images
35:52 - The Creative Opportunity
FOLLOW: LinkedIn
SOURCES:
Wikipedia: Dead Internet Theory
New York Magazine: How Much of the Internet Is Fake?
The Atlantic: Dead Internet Theory
CREDITS:
Hosted and produced by Britton Rice, along with David Harper, Alexander Woell, Chase Domergue, Alex Detmering, and Nicole Lazar. Our original logo is by Nate Betts.
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