AI is ruining the internet

Introduction

A Day in the Life of a Lazy Teenager

A lazy teen making $ 21,000 a month screen recording streamer content and using tools like "cray" to create videos prompted a comedy of sorts about how AI transforms trivial work into profitable ventures.

The Inescapability of AI

AI is omnipresent in modern internet experiences. What once was the simplicity of searching Google has become a convoluted mess of AI algorithms inevitably giving incorrect or even dangerous advice. This dystopian narrative extends from typical searches to the integration of AI within websites, even to the absurdity of claimable AI income sources.

The Dead Internet Theory

The theory suggests that the internet is now largely occupied by AI bots—content created by bots, read by bots, and replied to by bots. For example, the vast majority of Facebook’s accounts being fake or Quora being plagued by bot-generated questions and answers reflects the decline of genuine human interaction.

Elon Musk’s Twitter changes, involving verification and monetization for increased visibility, have incentivized toxic engagement and AI-spammed comments. The engagement farming is evident when AI-generated irrelevant comments drown genuine discussions.

AI-Generated Personas

Meta has created AI personas with different personalities or even modeled after celebrities. These fake people can post or message users, but often contradict themselves, resulting in eerie inaccuracies. Platforms like Character AI, valued at $ 1 billion, use unapproved likenesses of real people, raising substantial ethical concerns.

AI Music: The New Frontier

Spotify’s rumored use of AI to create “fake” artists to make money from streams without paying actual musicians is another layer of the AI threat. The fear that AI-generated music might replace human creativity can devalue genuine artistic efforts, reflecting comments from users who oddly welcome AI as a quality floor for music.

AI Content Saturation

AI oversaturation is evident with AI-generated images and music flooding platforms like Etsy and Spotify. The meticulous yet frustrating experience of AI-generated stock photos costing a bomb depicts the degrading value AI offers, replacing creative depth with mediocrity.

Absurd AI Implementations

From Netflix using AI to create fake historical photos to AI-imagined absurd album covers, the boundaries of ethics and practical utility seem blurred. AI-generated video remains deficient, replete with inconsistent visuals and lacking cohesive narratives.

Critique and Vision

Generative AI threatens real art by taking away the skills and efforts involved. This modern phenomenon disregards the painstakingly rewarding creative process, potentially diminishing the value of true craftsmanship.

Keywords

AI
Internet
Bots
Social Media
AI Personas
AI-Generated Music
Oversaturation
Ethics
Creativity

FAQ

Q: Why is AI becoming problematic on the internet? A: AI is replacing human interaction and genuine content, leading to misleading information, fake personas, and devaluation of real creativity.

Q: What is the Dead Internet Theory? A: It's the idea that much of the internet's content is created and managed by AI, reducing human engagement.

Q: How has social media been affected by AI? A: AI-generated comments and posts are flooding platforms, often overshadowing genuine interactions and incentivizing toxic engagement.

Q: Are AI personas ethical? A: AI personas can pose ethical dilemmas, especially when they replicate real people without consent or compensation.

Q: How does AI threaten music and art? A: AI-generated music and art can overshadow genuine human creativity and reduce royalty opportunities for real artists.

Q: What happens with oversaturation of AI-generated content? A: The market gets flooded with similar, low-effort content, reducing opportunities for genuine artists and lowering the overall quality of content.

Q: Can AI-generated video replace human-created film? A: Current AI-generated videos are rife with inconsistencies and lack cohesive narratives, making them hard to take seriously as replacements for human-created content.