Zombie Internet: AI Writing Distorts Human Communication
Jason Koebler's angry piece 'Your AI Use Is Breaking My Brain' critiques the pervasive and mentally exhausting presence of AI-generated writing online. He coins the term 'Zombie Internet' to describe a more insidious phenomenon than the 'Dead Internet' (bots talking to bots). The Zombie Internet involves complex interactions: people talking to bots, people using AI talking to non-AI users, and AI agents instructed to interact with people. It includes influencer hustlebros creating AI influencers, automated YouTube channels and blogs for profit, AI summaries of real books sold as the books themselves, and fake Reddit posts from marketing firms. Simon Willison posted a link to the piece on 11th May 2026, offering a curated email digest of LLM developments for $10/month sponsorship.
Key facts
- Jason Koebler wrote the piece 'Your AI Use Is Breaking My Brain'.
- Koebler coined the term 'Zombie Internet'.
- The Zombie Internet involves people talking to bots, people using AI talking to non-AI users, and AI agents interacting with people.
- Influencer hustlebros create AI influencers and automated YouTube channels and blogs for profit.
- AI summaries of real books are being sold as the books themselves.
- Fake Reddit posts from marketing firms give heartfelt advice.
- Simon Willison posted a link to the piece on 11th May 2026.
- Willison offers a curated email digest of LLM developments for $10/month sponsorship.
Entities
Artists
- Jason Koebler
- Simon Willison