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Many have expressed their fears surrounding the increasing possibility of the 'dead internet theory' coming true, yet Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has taken a rather positive spin on the situation and suggested that it could lead to a groundbreaking new era for social media.
If you've spent any time on social media or the internet at large over the last couple of years there's a good chance that you've noticed a significant uptick in content driven by bots and artificial intelligence.
It's not just AI-generated content either, but entire accounts that aren't operated by humans in the slightest, and one look at the replies of a popular post on X will show you hundreds of examples of this very phenomenon pushed to the top.
This dramatic increase of bots across the web has been predicted under what's known as the 'dead internet theory', which was initially conceived in 2021 on the Agora Road forum in a post by 'IlluminatiPirate', as reported by Fortune.
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The theory itself refers to the point at which AI and bot-driven traffic overtakes that of humans across the internet, with it likely being used to control civilization as a consequence.
Many leading figures in the tech world have discussed the theory in recent months, with even ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman outlining that he's now convinced that it's a thing.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has now added his perspective into the conversation, offering an alternative viewpoint that something positive could actually come out of the bot invasion.
Speaking on the TBPN podcast, Ohanian outlined: "You all prove the point that so much of the internet is now just dead — this whole dead internet theory, right? Whether it's botted, whether it's quasi-AI, LinkedIn slop. Having proof of life, like live viewers and live content, is really f***ing valuable to hold attention."
In essence, Ohanian is suggesting that the rise of botted content will lead to people placing greater emphasis on information and content that is explicit and inherently human, suggesting that group chats in places like WhatsApp and Signal are the only place that remains untouched.
"I think we'll see a next generation of social media emerge that's verifiably human because it's all going down in the group chats now — that is not novel tech," Ohanian predicted.
"There's got to be some next iteration of that, because that's where all of us are getting our, really, best info now."
What this 'innovation' will end up being is yet to be seen, and it would be fascinating to see how that could prevent itself from being taken over by bots like every other corner of the internet, but it's certainly a space that's ripe for innovation and evolution towards humans once again.
