I Investigated The Dead Internet Theory and Things Got Weird.

Overview

The video examines the “dead internet” theory: the idea that bots and AI-generated content increasingly make online spaces seem more active and human than they are. The narrator describes two versions of the theory:

• Commercial: Bots generate engagement and advertising revenue.
• Political: Coordinated online activity is used to influence public opinion.

The narrator argues that online influence is real, while treating claims of government control as a broader, more speculative interpretation.

Online Influence and Government

The video connects the theory to the internet’s origins in U.S. defense research and to claims that online activity played a role in the Arab Spring. It suggests the U.S. may have selectively supported some uprisings, while cautioning that this does not mean the protests lacked genuine grievances. The narrator also points to U.S. efforts to maintain influence over major technology platforms as part of the theory’s context.

Bots and Manufactured Attention

The video describes several ways bots can shape online attention without necessarily involving governments:

• A “mother and child” tactic, in which bot accounts repeatedly promote a celebrity’s main account.
• Astroturfing, or using fake online support to simulate a popular movement.
• AI-generated “Shrimp Jesus” images and repetitive “I hate texting” posts, which bot accounts appeared to boost without an obvious human audience or purpose.

AI Agents and Persuasion

The narrator highlights Truth Terminal, an AI-controlled social media account linked to cryptocurrency. According to the video, its promotion of the Goat token helped drive the token’s market value to a reported $1.2 billion, demonstrating how bot activity can attract and influence real people.

The narrator also cites a 2024 experiment on r/changemyview. Researchers reportedly used 13 AI accounts to post 1,700 comments and earned hundreds of “deltas” for changing users’ views. The bots allegedly tailored arguments to users’ posting histories and adopted fabricated identities, including a gay Catholic and a Black opponent of Black Lives Matter. The narrator presents this as a serious example of AI-mediated persuasion.

Conclusion

The narrator’s conclusion is that the internet is not simply “dead” but “dying.” Human-made sites and interactions are disappearing amid AI-generated content, platform concentration, and declining incentives to maintain websites. The video cites claims that 38% of websites have disappeared and that 57.1% of written web content is AI-generated. It argues that interactions with real people online may become less common and recommends building and participating in human communities as a way to resist this trend.

Presenter

Shane is the video’s narrator. No other contributors are identified.