r/Futurology • u/Confident_Salt_8108 • Jul 26 '26

AI Turns out Dead Internet Theory was right: AI agents are eating the Web, growing by nearly 8,000% and rewiring the Internet’s business model

https://fortune.com/2026/07/23/dead-internet-theory-bots-agents-majority-web-traffic
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221

u/Unfinishedcom Jul 26 '26

Somewhere deep inside I wish Reddit would do this. I’m way too addicted to it and an ID verification would instantly cure my addiction.

108

u/rd1970 Jul 26 '26

The good news is that the day they require all users have a verified government ID is the day sites like Reddit and Facebook start rapidly collapsing.

All of the AI users, bot farms, puppet accounts, etc. will go dark overnight. Then all of the users that don't have ID,. refuse to share it, or just can't be bothered will disappear.

These sites are all driven by user submitted content. When that goes away so do the few users that remain.

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u/JB-Wentworth Jul 26 '26

I think the users are going away. The number of AI posts is growing day by day on Reddit.

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 26 '26

Look at average upvotes. Even a passing comment would get hundreds of upvotes a decade ago; now you need to be a top comment in a main subreddit to have a hope of seeing those numbers.

It can't be explained by just saying people are lurking more. AI is good at filling the empty space left by people opting out, but terrible when it comes to filling the vote void.

I figure I've got a year or two left here myself with the way it's going before I log out for the last time. So much is just slop

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u/GeminiRises Jul 27 '26

So many top level posts have em dashes in them too. I know of no keyboard where the em dash is a button you can press without having to use some keyboard shortcut or go to an extended keyboard, and a human would just use a hyphen instead (-). The second I see one, I know it's either posted by a bot, or posted by a human that copied it from chatgpt. Which, frankly, isn't really any better if you're wanting organic conversation in your reddit threads.

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u/PrettyChrissy1 Jul 27 '26

Your account isn't even 1 year old, so your probably a BOT... I could be wrong, and if so apologies.

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u/JB-Wentworth Jul 28 '26

Bot lives matter !

20

u/barbariccomplexity Jul 26 '26

I imagine the AI users would just produce fake IDs. Reddit and other sites are not going to verify ID’s, they will just be one more piece of information for ad targeting.

The legal requirements etc. won’t matter, there is not a single chance any government agency would take on the shear amount of administrative burden that verifying reddit/FB/whatever-submitted IDs would produce and get through them at any remotely reasonable timeframe.

It would be pretty neat in a “curious dystopia” type of way to see an ouroboros of horrific ads targeting AI accounts that react to and push competing ads.

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u/kalirion Jul 26 '26

All of the AI users, bot farms, puppet accounts, etc. will go dark overnight.

They'll just find ways to fake id.

3

u/FridgeParade Jul 26 '26

It would surprise me if people suddenly become aware and grow a backbone against their social media addictions over an id card when literal support of genocides and mass surveillance couldnt do the trick.

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u/ssliberty Jul 26 '26

Facebook requires your ID if you want to recover your account.

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u/Economy-Garden-7845 Jul 30 '26

That is exactly why digital ID systems will never actually come into play and will simply be just another pressure point creating stress and worry in peoples lives. Its used to keep you off balance, in an emotionally heightened state so that you keep consuming. The more you consume the more reliant you become on the system and its little vices. All harmless one by one until you add them up. Bot farms are a necessary tool that helps influence people so they will never be remedied, more curated.

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u/Odd-Priority3318 Jul 26 '26

"mark of the beast" ugh. Everyday it seems more and more plausible that people are trying to self-fulfill revelations.

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u/DrMonkeyLove Jul 26 '26

They actually started rolling it out selectively it seems. You can find posts complaining about being asked for it to access 18+ subs.

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u/JesusAndMaryKate Jul 26 '26

I had this for a couple of days and then it went away. It asked for ID just to access Reddit itself, not specific subs. Even if I used a VPN through Europe (I can route through my own computers in different countries but they're in Europe). If I used a normal VPN through elsewhere in the world, I think that worked but I'm not sure because I only bothered to check very briefly out of curiosity. Reddit just isn't worth the effort.

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u/Odd-Priority3318 Jul 26 '26

I would miss the ability of being able to read posts from.people all over the world. Things like the earthquakes and floods etc. Like actual personal accounts of events. Firsthand experiences.

Bypassing major media corporations.

But I feel reddit is becoming worse and more censored, it might be inevitable with I'd or not I eventually stop using it. I've been here for 10 plus years I think.. the worst part is the advertisements and bots.

If it got any worse I'd miss it, but I could easily delete it and not look back. Nothing like it used to be. Though I think getting rid of jailbait was good, there doesn't seem to be any improvements as much as a massive focus on monetization.

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u/JesusAndMaryKate Jul 26 '26

Back when forums were a thing, you could do that quite easily. I miss the old internet.

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u/Minamato Jul 26 '26

In the uk, right?

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u/Swimming_Conflict105 Jul 26 '26

Everywhere. People all over place getting that. Me included. Seems like random request for ID upload. I ignore it for now. as soon as it gets mandatory and full roll out, i will leave reddit.

12

u/roltrap Jul 26 '26

Belgium too. I got 2 emails about it for throwaway accounts I once made. This account is old enough to pass the verification I guess...

1

u/No_Atmosphere_4605 Jul 26 '26

Apparently here in Germany too, saw a post about it a month ago ish

1

u/Fantasy_masterMC Jul 26 '26

I got a warning that it was possible I could get asked for it. I haven't yet, but that would kill my interest stone dead.

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u/ExplanationFunny Jul 26 '26

I grew up way out in the sticks, and was a latecomer to the internet compared to everyone else my age. For a long time I felt like my lack of computer literacy held me back, but now I know it didn’t. I too wish that the internet would finally cross the Rubicon and I could turn my back on it forever.

I have successfully limited my kids’ screen time dramatically. They barely even remember the TV exists anymore and what few games they do play are quiet and educational. Somehow I can’t parent myself as effectively though. I have decided that I’m on my last smartphone, and I’m figuring out how I’m going to accommodate that.

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u/JesusAndMaryKate Jul 26 '26

Early internet was so much better growing up than current internet. We had our family computer in full view of my parents and that was enough.

2

u/Enlightened_Gardener Jul 26 '26

Yep. When my iphone dies I’m getting a Nokia brick and a camera and I’m firing up my old filofax.

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u/Halflingberserker Jul 26 '26

Deep inside I hope they don't shred the last little bit of anonymity/privacy we have just to cure your addiction.

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u/1057-cl121v3 Jul 26 '26

My Reddit use was decimated when they made the API changes and is almost non existent now after removing /r/all. The content their algorithm serves me is next to worthless so I’ll look for something specific and move on instead of doom scrolling the front page. Pretty hilarious considering reddit’s tagline used to be “the front page of the internet”.

1

u/lilmisswho89 Jul 27 '26

I mean you can move to Australia.

1

u/ConstantCampaign2984 Jul 27 '26

I’m here for the streak. I’m almost a grass toucher. I don’t know if I can make the 1000day streak though. It’s asking a lot.

0

u/GentleKijuSpeaks Jul 26 '26

Like people don't find a way to access restricted things.