Latest update:19 October 2025, 10:00 AM IST

Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, supported the dead internet theory and sounded the alarm against bots and artificial intelligence dominating the online space.

What is the dead internet theory? (representational image)

Once considered a conspiracy, the dead Internet theory is now gaining more believers, even among high-profile figures. According to Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, the idea that bots and automated content are now dominating online activity and creating a “dead” internet space holds significant merit. Ohanian is concerned about the state of popular social media platforms, which he says operate primarily on “archived” and “semi-AI” interactions.

In an episode of the TBPN podcast on Monday, October 13, Ohanian expressed his frustration with current social media algorithms and pointed out how artificial intelligence is taking over the online space. The Reddit co-founder has backed up his argument that we have a “dead internet” by citing public posts on professional networks like LinkedIn as evidence.

“You’ve all proven that a lot of the Internet is dead now, the whole dead Internet theory, right? Whether it’s filled with bots, or quasi-AI, or LinkedIn,” Ohanian said.

Experts agree with the theory

Many experts now agree with Ohanian’s argument, noting that there is a dead Internet space ravaged by bots and heavy AI-based interactions. It is suspected that around 51% of internet traffic today is generated by bots and AI-powered accounts that create and disseminate content at scale.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently acknowledged the phenomenon at hand and reconsidered his position on the “dead internet theory.” “I’ve never taken the dead internet theory seriously, but there actually seem to be a lot of Twitter accounts run by LLM now,” Altman posted on X.

Ohanian’s idea to combat the dead Internet

The dead internet theory first gained traction in 2021 following a post by “IlluminatiPirate” on the Agora Road forum. The post later appeared in The Atlantic under the headline: “You may have missed it, but the Internet died five years ago.”

Since then, data from several cybersecurity companies has also supported the idea that bots and AI-based calculations were dominating online interactions. According to Cloudflare, nearly a third of Internet traffic comes from bots. Imperva claimed that the number is higher and that nearly 50 percent of social media traffic today comes from non-human sources.

Ohanian shared an idea to combat the dead internet problem, calling for a more vibrant online space with “live viewers and live content.” “I think we’re going to see a next generation of social media that is verifiably human, because everything happens in group chats now,” he said, also calling for regulations that rely on “proof of life” to verify the user base.

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The team of writers at News18.com bring you stories about what’s buzzing on the internet while exploring science, cricket, technology, sex, Bollywood and culture.

The team of writers at News18.com bring you stories about what’s buzzing on the internet while exploring science, cricket, technology, sex, Bollywood and culture.

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