What is the 'Dead Internet Theory' and should humanity be worried? By Kari Paul Nov. 10, 2026 4:00 pm EST Akinbostanci/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

When spending time online today, do you ever get the feeling that digital life has become eerily less human? Perhaps social media posts seem a bit off, or you get the sneaking suspicion the customer service representative you are chatting with is actually a bot. If this sounds familiar, you aren't alone: a paradigm called the "dead internet theory" has been gaining momentum in the last several years, positing that the internet is increasingly dominated by non-human activity, including bots and AI-generated content.