The ‘dead internet theory’ makes eerie claims about an AI-run web

Anomalien ^ | Jun. 10 | Jake Carter

[Openurmind]

If you search “shrimp Jesus” on Facebook, you might encounter dozens of images of artificial intelligence (AI) generated crustaceans meshed in various forms with a stereotypical image of Jesus Christ.

Some of these hyper-realistic images have garnered more than 20,000 likes and comments. So what exactly is going on here?

The “dead internet theory” has an explanation: AI and bot-generated content has surpassed the human-generated internet. But where did this idea come from, and does it have any basis in reality?

What is the dead internet theory?

The dead internet theory essentially claims that activity and content on the internet, including social media accounts, are predominantly being created and automated by artificial intelligence agents.

These agents can rapidly create posts alongside AI-generated images designed to farm engagement (clicks, likes, comments) on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. As for shrimp Jesus, it appears AI has learned it’s the current, latest mix of absurdity and religious iconography to go viral.

But the dead internet theory goes even further. Many of the accounts that engage with such content also appear to be managed by artificial intelligence agents. This creates a vicious cycle of artificial engagement, one that has no clear agenda and no longer involves humans at all.

[Retrofitted]

Except for this (h/t The Neuron https://www.theneuron.ai/):

This is study titled "Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task": https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872

In summary:

Researchers strapped EEG headsets on 54 people and had them write essays over four months. One group used ChatGPT, another used Google search, and a third went old-school with just their brains.

ChatGPT users showed dramatically weaker brain connectivity… and when they later tried to write without AI, their brains looked more like novices than practiced writers.

83% of ChatGPT users couldn't quote a single sentence from essays they'd written just minutes earlier. Now compare that to the brain-only group, where only 11% had trouble quoting their own work.

Even scarier, most people had no idea their thinking was being affected. The convenience feels seamless, but the cognitive trade-offs were invisible until researchers measured what was actually happening to their thinking processes.

[RedMonqey]

Exactly.

AI articles are redundant toʻ the extreme.
They keep beating the same point without adding any real information.

They all read as if the editor was in vacation.

[hal ogen]

This is the death of trust.

Fake pics...fake conversation...fake videos...fake research...Fake everything.

I believe we are all headed for the Matrix.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

That’s the problem.

[oldtech]

I didn’t think AI sounded like much of a deal in the first place. Now I am really wondering. Wish I knew more about it so I’d know what to look out for.

[GingisK]

That is a very important revelation.

[cgbg]

The criticisms of AI articles and videos are valid.

Today.

In a few years watch out..

[Retrofitted]

I get concerned when I think about it too much. Communication skills are generally in a state of decline. AI requires skillful communication to be useful (”Hottest new programming language is English”). Using AI, though, lessens the ability to communicate.

Multiply that out by a handful of years.

[EasySt]

The human content isn’t dead yet.

It’s just buried under all the AI crap. (Depth increasing.)

[oldtech]

Seems like a very dangerous proposition depending on the Internet to record all past history. It should be in written form at the time it happens & if it is put on the Internet, it can taken from the written version.Otherwise, you’re going to get some questionable version of what happened on such & such a date. I think we already have enough of that.

[GingisK]

I get concerned when I think about it too much.

I don't see any way out of this: Western Civilization is collapsing. The only unknown is how long before the crash? Slowly at first, then suddenly.