Discussion: The Dead Internet Theory

* * Shoes-Off Venue * *
This venue requires that you remove your outdoor footwear on arrival.

* * Feel free to bring food or drinks * *
* * Participation is optional - you can join us to speak or to listen * *

The dead internet theory is the idea that a large portion of online activity is no longer driven by real people, but by bots, automated content systems, and coordinated manipulation. According to this view, social media posts, comments, product reviews, news articles, and even entire websites are increasingly generated or amplified by non-human actors. The result is an internet that appears busy and engaged on the surface, while masking a shrinking proportion of genuine human interaction.

Several observable trends give the theory credibility. Bot networks now generate likes, shares, comments, and followers at scale. Content farms produce large volumes of low-quality articles optimized for search engines rather than readers. Recommendation algorithms prioritize engagement metrics that are easy to manipulate, which incentivizes spam, outrage bait, and repetitive content. As generative AI has improved, automated posts have become harder to distinguish from human-written ones, further blurring the line between authentic participation and synthetic activity.

This shift has practical consequences for public discourse. When automated or coordinated accounts dominate conversations, they can distort perceptions of popularity, consensus, and controversy. Real users may believe an idea is widely supported or opposed based on engagement signals that are partially or entirely artificial. This undermines trust in online spaces and makes it more difficult for legitimate grassroots movements, research, or debate to gain visibility without competing against manufactured engagement.

The dead internet theory does not claim that humans have disappeared from the web, but that the balance has changed. As automation becomes cheaper and more effective, economic incentives favor volume over authenticity. Platforms benefit from activity regardless of its source, advertisers benefit from impressions regardless of quality, and bad actors benefit from the confusion this creates. Whether or not the theory is accepted in full, it highlights a real and growing problem: an internet where it is increasingly difficult to tell how much of what we see is created by people, and how much is generated to influence them.

Are you concerned about how much of the internet has turned into machines talking to machines and bots trying to deceive humans? What does the future of the internet look like? Are you concerned about the dead internet?

Join us for fun, friendly and substantive discussion about the important topics of the day. All viewpoints are welcome for this friendly, moderated discussion.

How it Works
Everyone will be invited to share their opinion, share relevant facts and reasoning, and respond to the views of others.

Our moderator will ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to speak and that dialogue will be kept respectful. All viewpoints are welcome. After the event, you are invited to stay for friendly, informal discussion if you wish.

Name and Pronoun Preferences
If you have specific pronoun preferences or any other requests to help ensure that you feel comfortable and respected, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the event organizer. Your needs and preferences are important to us, and we want to make sure our gatherings are supportive and inclusive for all attendees.

Aren't you worried about having an event with 50+ people?!?
No because there will not be 50 people at the event. On Meetup, many attendees cancel at the last minute, and many are no-shows who skip the event without cancelling. I set the RSVP limit to 55 people, I reduce that limit to 45 in the last two days before the event, and then 20-30 people will actually attend.

This allows us to hit our attendance target of 15-30 people, and it ensures that attendees have their spot guaranteed weeks in advance. This makes the guest count inaccurate, but it's the simplest way to provide you a reliable and positive RSVP experience.

Suggested Reading
Dead Internet Theory (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Internet_theory

Ideals
Please read the Studio 42 Ideals before attending the event:
http://stu42.co/ideals

Admission
Admission is free. We accept donations to help fund our events.

Latecomers
Latecomers are welcome but we start promptly at 6:05pm so if you arrive late, you will miss out!