Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Infrastructure

A Critical Analysis of the Dead Internet Theory

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between the automation of digital content production, algorithmic mediation, and the energy consumption of Internet infrastructure, seeking to understand the extent to which these factors support or problematize the arguments associated with the Dead Internet Theory. This is a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study based on a bibliographic review of research on Artificial Intelligence, bots, algorithms, automated content production, computing infrastructure, Data Centers, and energy consumption in digital technologies. The analysis shows that the growing use of Artificial Intelligence, bots, recommendation systems, and other algorithmic mechanisms is transforming the production, circulation, and consumption of digital content while simultaneously increasing demand for processing capacity, data storage, and energy. The study also discusses the material dimension of digital transformation, considering the environmental, economic, and geopolitical impacts associated with the expansion of computing infrastructure. The findings indicate that, although there is insufficient evidence to claim that most interactions on the Internet are produced exclusively by automated systems, the expansion of synthetic content production and algorithmic mediation is a concrete phenomenon. It is concluded that the Dead Internet Theory has greater analytical value when understood not as a literal description of reality, but as a critical metaphor for transformations resulting from automation, algorithmic mediation, and the expansion of digital infrastructure.