The dead Internet theory is a conspiracy theory that asserts that, since around 2016, the Internet has consisted primarily of bot activity and automated content manipulated by algorithmic curation. This alleged coordinated effort aims to control the population and reduce genuine human interaction. Supporters of the theory claim that social bots were deliberately created to manipulate algorithms and enhance search results to influence consumers. Some proponents also accuse government agencies of using bots to shape public perception and opinions.
I gotta be honest, I don’t think the “supporters of the theory” is too far-fetched, because you know what? 5 seconds into the Wikipedia link, I got immediately sold. Sold. I found out about the Youtube video above from mortaki.place, and I came to mortaki.place site because I clicked someone’s pixel hit counter (88×31) and the rest is history. I’m so proud of myself for creating, and following, breadcrumbs instead of algorithms.
I feel the video above came in such a perfect situation. Just last night, after shalat Isya (the evening prayer), I sat down and, uh, “chatted”. I can’t say it’s a prayer because I’m not sure that starting a prayer with, “OKAY, SO, YEAH, ALLAH, YOU KNOW RIGHT–” is pretty normal or acceptable. Anyway. I did my long-ass monologue on how things have been feeling so… hopeless. For me. Just recently, there was a terrible accident involving two trains and a car in Jakarta, and all of the victims were women. Four days before the accident, there were child abuse cases (PLURAL!) at a well-known daycare center in Yogyakarta. The situation has been so bad that someone commented, “This is one of the worst times as a mother,” considering the strings of cases and incidents involving children and mothers. Initial reports from the train accidents showed findings of cooler bags, which means mothers bringing back expressed breastmilk for their babies at home. One descendant was a mother on her first day on the job after 3 months of maternal leave post-partum.
And the worst part? I couldn’t even cry.
I sympathise, yes. I feel the sorrow, yes. But beneath all that, I feel numb. As if my body and brain have been ready for, “what’s next bad thing going to happen after this?” After that circus, farce, and awful theatrics at the White House Correspondents’ State Dinner, I thought we couldn’t go lower than that, but apparently we did. And I feel awful. I feel awful for feeling numb about lives lost. It feels like my brain is screaming at me, “what the fuck, man, how did you become this cruel?!” I hate myself for it. It feels like I’m being pulled into the vortex of hopelessness and everywhere I’m looking at, it’s always Bad News and Something Really Bad Is Going On And You Can’t Do Anything About It.
So, yeah, call me any words you have on your mind right now, I wonder if perhaps me stumbling into that Youtube video would be Allah’s answer, “here ya go. You spent 15 minutes yapping about how you’re feeling awful in the middle of the night while you should’ve slept, considering your cortisol level.”
Three points from the video: Existential problems/problems of the soul are solved with creativity, back yourself, and you are what you eat/consume.
I have so many thoughts about the concept of Dead Internet Theory: “The Internet has consisted primarily of bot activity…” One of the top 10 things that can EASILY pissed me off: “I asked ChatGPT…” No. Ew.
Unfortunately, it happened (!) I was in this meeting, right, and for, uh, reasons, I couldn’t disclose the nature of the meeting. During the meeting, I asked something to this person, and this person asked, “Do you have Gemini on your phone?”
I immediately showed my discomfort. “No. I prefer not using genAI if possible.” Honestly? I was surprised and taken aback by that question because this person, of all professions, should not rely too much on genAI. It would be an insult to their profession and their passion (if this person has any.)
Call me paranoid or snappy, but I felt this person was suddenly patronizing me as they called me “love” after I told them that I have no interest whatsoever in consulting genAI for every minor inconvenience in my life. “No, love, ChatGPT is actually good! Open ChatGPT, then type “ladder of inference” and read what it’s all about.”
BOI, THE ANGER THAT I ANGERED. How lazy that could be? My goodness.
I refused to use whatever AI spewed at me. I typed “ladder of inference” on Google, scrolled past that damned AI section, then I found “Understanding the Ladder of Inference: Navigating Cognitive Pitfalls” (USC Gould) and “Understanding How to Use the Ladder of Inference” (HBR) in just 30 seconds. WITHOUT USING SOMEONE ELSE’S DRINKING WATER.
(I know it’s futile because someone else’s drinking water is still being used as Google is showing that yucky AI section on the top.)
I know that this should be a no-brainer to all of us. The signs have always been there. Heck, one of my favorite movies of all time is Pixar’s “Wall.E”, and the movie even predicted it way long before shitty genAI started to take over our timelines.
That said, a reminder is always needed and appreciated. I feel that’s why we have THAT corner of the Internet, where the early time of the Internet in the 2000s is still cherished so. I can’t wait to see them back.
This difference in mentality is one of the best things about web revivalists to me. In general, they are kinder and friendlier people than in the wider internet (in fact, being kind is a common tenet in web revivalist manifestos!). And it’s easy to see why. It’s harder to be rude or apathetic towards someone when you know they spent hours of their time documenting their entire CD collection just to share or hand coding a Miku shrine with all her songs from the year 2014 specifically or yelling at javascript when their theme switcher stops working for the fifth time. It’s easy to relate to the people around you when you know and can see that they put just as much time and energy and personality in their site as you do.
— Mordecai (The Mortaki Place)
Bonus: Speaking about genAI, I have loads of opinions about genAI. I know AI has been around since the 70s, and it has been helping humanity on a scale that some industries now rely on it. That said, ethics, ethics, ethics. AI helps medical experts and doctors find patterns in cancer and its cure? Good. GenAI steals artworks and spews ugly “Ghibli-fied” “drawings” despite Hayao Miyazaki vehemently defending the beauty of humans and humanity? Barf.
