How AI-generated content is erasing our digital history

As AI Eats the Web, the Internet's Collective Memory is Disappearing

Based on reporting from The Walrus

2024

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The Problem

Google Search is dying—and taking our collective memory with it

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SEO Spam Overload Search results flooded with AI-generated content optimized for clicks
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Human Content Disappearing Authentic experiences replaced by generic AI-written articles
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Dead Internet Theory The web increasingly populated by bots talking to bots
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Lost Knowledge Forums, blogs, and community wisdom becoming inaccessible

The internet was supposed to be humanity's collective memory.
Now that memory is being rewritten—by machines.

The Walrus

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The signs are everywhere

How we're losing access to authentic information

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Adding 'Reddit' to queries has become standard practice to find real human answers

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Twitter, Quora, and Reddit have restricted API access, breaking discovery tools

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Generic AI-written reviews and articles dominate travel, product, and advice searches

history

The average webpage lasts only 100 days before disappearing or changing dramatically

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Archive Actively Save valuable content before it disappears—use archive.org and personal backups
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Support Human Creators Seek out and support journalism, blogs, and forums with real human voices
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Demand Better Tools Advocate for search engines and platforms that prioritize authentic content
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Preserve Context The internet needs curators, not just creators—we must preserve meaning, not just data

The internet's memory is our memory. Let's protect it.

Source: The Walrus — thewalrus.ca/google-search-is-dying