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What is the "dead internet theory"?

It was a joke from the 2010s that most of the people that you interacted with on the internet were actually bots, and that you were the only human using the web.

Now, in the post-LLM age, it doesn't sound like a joke anymore.

Does it really matter if you’re being cold called by an AI or some sales person following the same few procedures they always do?

I’d prefer sales people keep their jobs. Having had the misfortune of being seated next to the telemarketing team in an investment bank for half a year… however… Let’s just say that I’m not sure you would even know if it was a person or a bot. They’re not even scripted or “trained” like your average telemarketer because our target audience is actually somewhat interested in what we sell, but listening to them repeat themselves over and over from their own “personal scripts”… well… they are already bots man.

Very true, I sat next to the sales guy at a small company and he was on the phone all day repeating himself day in and day out. Easily replaced by AI.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com