And it didn’t even need to take over the world after all
This article almost ended up in our Popcorn Shorts because there’s not much for us to add beyond the article itself. But it was such a strange, surreal, horrifying development that it fit perfectly in our Halloween issue and we wanted you to see it.
You may have heard of the “Dead Internet Theory”, or wondered about it yourself without realizing it. From ScienceAlert, “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… 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.”
So the problem is clear… the InterNet, created by humans and for humans, is being taken over by snippets of software pretending to be humans. They’re so ubiquitous that we just don’t know when, or if, we’re talking to another person or being manipulated by malign actors. What to do?
If you thought the answer might involve something like nurturing human interaction or reducing bot activity, then you don’t think like Michael Sayman. He saw the Dead Internet and decided the pesky humans still littering the place are the problem, so he created “SociaAI”, a ‘social’ media app where YOU are the only real person in the loop.
That’s right! Sign up for this wonderful technological life-boost and you won’t ever have to hear from a real live person again! You pick the types of followers you want from groups like ‘supporters’, ‘trolls’, ‘critics’ ‘counselors’, ‘cheerleaders’, ‘nerds’, and more. Then you dash off your deep thoughts onto a Twitter-like interface and these AI bots line up to stroke you with the feedback you picked. An eternal, impenetrable echo chamber where you scream into the void of the universe and hear only distorted digital echoes in reply.
Maybe it’s not as bad as living in a post-apocalyptic hellscape where our robotic overlords hunt us for sport, but maybe it’s worse. Either way, we thought it’d bring a few shivers to you this Halloween… at least, that’s what our A.I. said.
Digging Deeper…
“Dead Internet theory” comes to life with new AI-powered social media app, Benj Edwards on ARSTechnica, Sep 2024
SocialAI– on the Apple App Store
I’ve tried the new deliberately anti-social AI-only social media app and I’ve never been more glad to be a little bit of a loser, James Bentley on PCGamer, Sep 2024
I Stared Into the AI Void With the SocialAI App, Lauren Goode on Wired, Sep 2024
