Is computational creativity flourishing on the dead internet?

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether computational creativity is thriving on social media platforms dominated by bots, analyzing their behavior to understand the extent of creative activity in an environment influenced by the dead internet theory.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of social media bots using computational creativity frameworks to assess their role and impact in digital interactions.

Findings

Bots exhibit signs of computational creativity in content generation

Creative behavior among bots is increasing over time

Implications for digital culture and online authenticity

Abstract

The dead internet theory is a conspiracy theory that states that all interactions and posts on social media are no longer being made by real people, but rather by autonomous bots. While the theory is obviously not true, an increasing amount of posts on social media have been made by bots optimised to gain followers and drive engagement on social media platforms. This paper looks at the recent phenomenon of these bots, analysing their behaviour through the lens of computational creativity to investigate the question: is computational creativity flourishing on the dead internet?