“What is real? How do you define ‘real’?” – Morpheus, the Matrix
Conspiracy theories are always intriguing. You start reading one just for fun, only to realize you’re getting sucked right into it and sometimes even begin to doubt your own beliefs and if everything you know about the existence of life was ever real or just fed into your mind as part of a bigger scheme by a higher organization that you’re not aware of? Just kidding *nervous chuckle* Now it seems like people believe that the internet, the platform where you’re reading this article right now, actually died a few years back and all these posts you’re actually seeing are being published by bots. Of course, that would make no sense right? That would mean I’m not a real writer and this article was randomly generated by bots? I mean, that’s ridiculous, I exist! Don’t I? Hello? Can anybody hear me? I’m REAL! PLEASE BELIEVE ME…communication error encountered
The “Dead Internet Theory” that’s making rounds on the internet (the irony) states that the internet actually died between 2016 and 2017 and all the “people” that we see commenting and posting are not real, rather these posts and social media updates are actually being done by bots. It seems like some people (we’re not sure if they’re real either) on the Agora Road’s Macintosh Café online forum have dedicated a great deal of time in trying to prove this theory. A user who goes by the name IlluminatiPirate created a thread on the website titled “Dead Internet Theory: Most of the Internet is Fake” explaining how most of the Internet that we see today is controlled by AI. “I’ve seen the same threads, the same pics, and the same replies reposted over and over across the years to the point of me seeing it as unremarkable,” IlluminatiPirate commented.
The real question is: should we be concerned about our and the internet’s existence? As with all conspiracy theories, there’s always some hint of truth buried deep underneath all the so-called claims. Today’s internet is heavily reliant on targeted AI and algorithms so it wouldn’t be surprising if we keep seeing the same things on top as these companies pay to stay in the spotlight and paid advertisements would always downplay “organic” experiences. But fear not, most of the people on the internet are still real and no, I’m not a bot trying to trick you into believing I’m real, I really am…or am I?
