We might be nearing the end of the internet as we know it. Every corner you look on most social media platforms, you’re bound to come across a post that’s generated by AI. Of course, Facebook is no exception.
A post on X by VC partner, Justine Moore, shows a series of screenshots taken from Facebook. All screenshots displayed viral posts with tens and thousands of likes, and all of them are AI-generated images.
“Facebook has turned into an endless scroll of AI photos and the boomers don’t appear to have noticed,” Moore wrote.
From architecture, to picturesque travel destinations, to babies and adorable animals – these viral Facebook photos have been generated by AI. But many users commenting under these photos didn’t seem to mind.
“The photos don’t have to be realistic, they’re just happy to see them,” she continued.
AI vs. the internet
We jumped on mum’s Facebook account to test out Moore’s claims and see if we’d be served AI-generated content. Sure enough, within five or so minutes of scrolling through the homepage, we were recommended at least two posts containing photos that were likely generated by AI.
The first post, which has over 500 likes, is sponsored content by a self-proclaimed ‘feng shui master’. Attached in his post are photos explaining the feng shui ‘principles’ of hanging up wall art at home.
Sure enough, the ‘wall art’ designs are generated by AI.
Next, we were recommended a post by a Facebook page called ‘The Idea King’. The post, which has over 600 likes, is a series of AI-generated photos of cats cuddling up to Buddha statues.
“Buddha and Meow,” wrote the post’s caption.
AI-generated content
On X, many users highlighted this ‘phenomenon’ on Facebook as an example of the ‘dead internet theory’: a conspiracy that the internet stopped being human and authentic six to seven years ago, and much of the content we see are AI-generated and pumped out by bots.
Some even theorised that the ‘boomers’ commenting under those posts are bots themselves! We have come full circle with AI, guys. AI systems are now feeding other AI systems – that’s the future that tech bros want.
