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

Springer Article

New York Magazine: How Much of the Internet Is Fake?

The Atlantic: Dead Internet Theory

YouTube Video

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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