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Ohanian Revives ‘Dead Internet’ Warnings as Bot Traffic Overtakes Humans

He says the web feels less human, urging a pivot to 'verifiably human' platforms.

Overview

  • On TBPN, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian called much of the internet "botted" or "quasi-AI" and argued for live, verifiably human interactions with "proof of life."
  • OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently noted seeing "a lot of LLM-run" accounts on X, signaling that automated activity is increasingly visible on major platforms.
  • Cybersecurity firm Imperva reported bots accounted for 51% of global web traffic in 2024, the first time in a decade automated traffic exceeded human activity.
  • Researchers from Swiss universities say elements of the once-speculative theory are now observable as generative AI makes AI-made posts harder to distinguish from human content.
  • A University of Zurich team’s bot experiment on Reddit’s r/changemyview was halted after Reddit threatened legal action, highlighting unresolved ethical and legal boundaries.