Everything sucks

If you spend any amount of time on a computer in 2026, you may find yourself thinking, as I frequently do, that computers have started to suck. The Internet, especially, sucks. I don’t think it has to be this way, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Dead Internet theory, the basic contours of the thesis are pretty simple: since 2016, technology has been able to generate plausible human-like text in response to a wide range of inputs. Thus, the majority of what you see online these days that purports to be human-made is some automated process that is engaged in some sort psychological op to sell you things, manufacture consent, or otherwise manipulate public opinion.