Web2’s artificial intelligence (AI) bots have come a long way and, according to some, may dominate a majority of web activity in what is known as the “Dead Internet Theory.”
Though this may not quite be the case, Web3’s AI agents are going above and beyond the simple Web2 bots we’ve come to know on social media. Now, they’re autonomous complex and can be tailored to meet whatever function they’re needed for.
In this instance, the Internet isn’t so much as “dead” as it is undying. What may be considered a virtual ghost town of machine-on-machine interactions could soon be populated with bots carrying out tasks on behalf of humans with other agents.
The “Dead Internet Theory” dates back as early as 2021, when a user called “IlluminatiPirate ” wrote his thesis in a thread they began on Agora Road’s Macintosh Cafe forum. It writes:
“Large proportions of the supposedly human-produced content on the internet are actually generated by artificial intelligence networks in conjunction with paid secret media influencers in order to manufacture consumers for an increasing range of newly-normalised cultural products.”
It’s not a completely unreasonable take, as perhaps over the past year, there has been a seismic shift in the quality of AI solutions and products, as well as the variety of applications they have.
Primarily, the theory posits that bots are rapidly and automatically creating social media content, posts, comments, clicks, shares, and every other interaction possible to farm clicks and attention. This is all for the typical Web2 aim of generating advertising revenue.
As early as 2018, warnings on AI bots were sounded. The spread of misinformation across social media by bots is perhaps one of the most pervasive uses we see today.
A 2018 study into the prevalence of social bots sharing “low-credibility content” found that such information sources are heavily supported by bots.
It analyzed 14 million messages, spreading 400,000 articles over ten months between 2016 and 2017.
It found overwhelming evidence that these bots were producing, sharing, and resharing unreliable information through accounts with large follower counts at breakneck speeds.
A 2019 study found similar results, and bots indeed had a huge sway on opinions and discourse, which worked to distort narratives around major crises and events.
The Dead Internet Theory suggests that an increasing number of online interactions aren’t happening human to human or human to AI but simply machine to machine.
At the deep end of the concept, it spins up a conspiracy in which governments are purposefully using bots to manipulate society.
Though unlikely to comprise a majority of Internet activity, bots are still an evolving technology. So, there is merit to the argument. That is if we are headed toward that rather uncomfortable future.
But it seems unlikely, as AI bots, now referred to as “agents,” are capable of far more than simple tasks and interactions. Instead, they are bespoke chunks of code capable of carrying out a myriad of tasks.
An AI “agent” is a new type of bot, one capable of far more complex tasks and able to act independently of specific human instruction.
They operate solely within the parameters set and may begin to automate many of the interactions we have on the next generation of Web platforms and applications.
Think of them more like digital personal assistants.
Crypto trading bots emerged as one of the earliest applications of AI within a “Web3 environment.” These allow traders to automate crypto trades, serving as a novel bridge between Web2 and Web3.
Furthering this notion, there is an increasing number of AI-powered memecoins.
Of course, the initial AI itself was designed and created by humans to serve such purposes. However, AI memecoin projects such as GOAT have taken up a life of their own.
The rise of 3D virtual agents will serve to muddy the waters further. These can move, speak, and produce content on the Internet and in 3D digital spaces.
Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) are rife with autonomous AI-generated profiles , complete with AI-generated photos.
The promise of AI completing tasks is rather powerful, but with each iteration, the human touch is lost, and the idea of a “dead Internet” becomes increasingly plausible.
A Web3 AI agent has far more utility than a typical bot. Ultimately, an individual can create a swam of Web3 agents to trade, create content, and handle online interactions of all shapes and sizes.
At some point, if agents become a truly ubiquitous technology in the hands of individuals, companies, and multinational entities, then there’s a chance that the Web3 era proves some portions of the Dead Internet Theory correct.
Though it may not be a gigantic conspiracy to misinform the masses, it could be an odd self-fulfilling prophecy, where human-created agents built to serve human purposes comprise a significant, if not dominant, portion of online interactions.
Again, it’s not so much that the Internet is dead because bots and humans are primarily interacting with bots online.
Instead, it’s entering a zombie-like state, bustling, undying cyberspace, where no one really knows if anything is real, yet things seem to keep chugging along.