Since the development of large language models(LLMs) like ChatGPT, many conspiracy theories have been going on for years. One of the theories in question is the “Dead Internet Theory”, an online conspiracy that claims the Internet now consists mainly of bot activity and automatically generated content. They are manipulated by algorithmic curation to intentionally influence the population and suppress organic human activity.
The dead internet theory seems to have a quite solid connection to reality, despite being less ridiculous than the renewed flat Earth theory. With the increase of AI usage in everything and bots replacing organic human traffic has added even more concerns.
In addition to this, the launch of a new AI-populated social network app called Social AI feels like it’s bringing that conspiracy theory to life. This app was unveiled by the software developer Michael Sayman on Monday. He announced, “a private social network where you receive millions of AI-generated comments offering feedback, advice & reflections on each post you make”. What this app does is that it allows users to interact solely with AI chatbots.
The app is available for Apple users, and they can get it easily from the Apple Play Store.
However, many have been criticizing the app simply for its existence. People believe that this app has the potential to destroy reality completely. Many came to voice this, computer security specialist Ian Coldwater stated on X, “This sounds like actual hell.” Software developer and frequent AI pundit Colin Fraser expressed a similar sentiment: “I don’t mean this like in a mean way or as a dunk or whatever, but this actually sounds like Hell. Like capital H Hell.”
Surprisingly, despite the backlash, it has also received positive feedback on the Apple Play Store. Some people seem to be enjoying this and say they don’t feel isolated because of this app. However, it remains undetermined whether these types of applications will endure in the long run.
