One conspiracy theory I’m reminded of almost any time I log onto any social media site is the “Dead Internet Theory.”
Now, I haven’t spent too much time entertaining this theory. I don’t know all the details or criticisms purveyors of this theory claim. But I also don’t think I need to get myself bogged down in all the details to realize the obvious:
A lot of shyt on the internet is fake.
Ain’t no other way to say it.
Anyway, the Dead Internet theory states that since 2016 or 2017, due to a coordinated and intentional effort, most of the internet is dead, e.g. mostly consisting of bot activity and automatically generated content to manipulate algorithms.
The theory also says that this is done to control the population and limit organic human activity.
While I wouldn’t put it past The Corporatizing Powers That Be (who literally claim “we’re a family” to their employees only to stab them—and their customers—in the back in the ongoing pursuit of profits without an underlying mission behind said profits), I’m not sure I’m all the way there on that idea.
But I wouldn’t put it past these weirdo Tech Bros either. But I think a less conspiratorial (and more accurate) view is simply this:
These weirdo Tech Bros like inflating vanity metrics.
Of course, they could have a more nefarious reason, yes. But I think the truth is simpler: The more they can inflate views and engagement, the more they can charge for advertising.
But the internet ain’t dead just because of social media.
If you want a more nefarious actor, look no further than Google: They actively filter content, censor certain articles and sites, and can pick and choose which articles rank at the top of various search queries. And, of course, they can also create bots to pump out worthless articles while also sending a bunch of fake traffic to said worthless articles, creating a weird self-sustaining “economy” of sorts, almost like a digital eugenics program designed to–subtly at first, then suddenly—replace human activity and interaction with AI slop.
In fact, a security firm called Imperva even proved this and found that automated programs and bots were responsible for 52% of all internet traffic!
(Plus, a former product lead at Google created SocialAI, which is a social media app exclusively for bots.)
This applies to Google subsidiaries like Gmail too. In fact, just a few months ago, click rates from client emails I sent skyrocketed to 10.83% out of nowhere—and, unsurprisingly, did not result in any more cheddar cheese for my clients. It was all bot activity.
We haven’t even touched on fake reviews yet either. Fake reviews proliferate the internet. In fact, even Google admits they remove fake reviews to the tune of 65 million per year.
At least fake reviews have more purpose than, say, bad actors trying to depopulate humanity. I’m, of course, being generous here. Methinks that most fake reviews are nothing more than simple scams to get people to make an impulse buy. Some of the products might not even be bad. That’s how low the bar is.
And this expands and penetrates just about any Tech company:
Spotify creates AI music and pushes it into innocent looking playlists so they earn royalties instead of artists.
IBM created Watson IBM to “cure cancer,” only to frustrate doctors and patients and provide western approaches (despite the western approach to cancer being terribly ineffective). Oracle is trying something similar too, with the unhelp of AI.
And it even expands past Tech Bros too and infects otherwise innocent business owners who fall victim to the lies of AI.
“Instead of writing this email myself, I’ll get ChatGPT to do it!”
“Instead of writing this article myself, I’ll get ChatGPT to do it!”
“Instead of thinking for myself, I’ll get ChatGPT to do it!”
“Instead of living myself, I’ll get ChatGPT to do it!”
And when you get ChatGPT to create, market, and run your business for you?
Are you even alive—or are you just a Tech Bro’s wet dream?
I’ve become increasingly cynical about AI since ChatGPT was rolled out. And mesuspects this might be a more mainstream view over the coming months, I don’t know.
But what I do know is this:
As the internet and all its content becomes more and more fake, there will be a growing desire for real, authentic, human connection.
Understand that, cully, and methinks you’ll prosper.
Yes, even if AI takes over and we live in a doomsday dystopia of Tech Bros.
Alright, enough armchair philosophizing, onto business:
If’n you want to increase your customer retention, loyalty, and volume—and do so in a real, authentic, emotional, and human way—hit reply, and let’s chat.
Because here’s the truth:
The one thing humanity got going for us is that we’re emotional creatures. That means that every buying decision you make is an emotional one. And “outsourcing” creative work to AI slop who cannot, fundamentally, understand emotions ain’t a good way to reach your monetary or growth goals.
So, hit reply, prove to be that YOU’RE not a bot, and let’s chat.
John
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