In his sci-fi trilogy The Three Body Problem, author Liu Cixin presents the dark forest theory of the universe. When we look out into space, the theory goes, we’re struck by its silence. It seems like we’re the only ones here. After all, if other forms of
Against the dark forest
The complex of ideas I’m going to call the Dark Internet Forest emerges from mostly insidery tech thinking, but from multiple directions.
Dead Forest Theory
Internet darkness is turning into deadness and time is running out
Enter the Dark Forest
If you’ve managed to find your way here, you are likely familiar with the Dark Forest Theory of the Internet. You may not yet know it by name but you know it by vibe. Dark Forests are online gathering spaces that are non-indexed, non-optimized and hidden from public view. They are typically hosted in
The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet
A book about how to survive on the internet. It’s about the cozy web, the dark web, the dark forest, the clear net, the dark net, and a new social world emerging around us. This is the Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet.
The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
Why the dark forests of the internet — podcasts, newsletters, and other private channels — are growing, and why might that pose a problem
More dead internet theory
Beyond the Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
Re-learning how to be yourself online
Building in the dark forest
We write from our new home in the Dark Forest. This week we fully committed to our new universe: we abandoned Slack and moved all operations into DFOS, our new tool, available more widely in the coming weeks. It feels good in here. Calm. Cozy. Just enough activity for things
What's good?
I want to start by talking about some things that seem like potential ways out of the dark forest tangle—even if they’re imperfect, which they all are.
The Internet Transition
The Internet is allowing us to build a richer, more complex society but the way in which we Internet today is failing to support the governance systems that a more complex world requires. I take a look at why these issues are related, try to develop an intuition for a way forward, and point at the emerging field that is coming together to build that future.
Out of Nowhere: The Emergence of Spacetime in Quantum Theories of Gravity
Out of Nowhere is the monograph co-authored by Nick Huggett and Christian Wüthrich, which appeared in 2025 from Oxford University Press. Selected chapters are posted here. (Our publication agreemen…
The Extended Internet Universe
The Internet is now a very complicated place
I call this the dark matter theory of science. Blogs, social media, etc - a majority of what actually influences science is invisible to the system (esp in AI) Real systems change in science will only be possible when we recognize these sources of influence and intentionally design for them
Eugene Vinitsky 🍒
Kinda feel weird that a few blog posts I’ve written in a few hours will probably have more educational impact than any amount of teaching I’ll ever do
AI* and the Dead Internet Theory/Zombie Internet
* I’m neither “pro-AI” nor “anti-AI.” I’ve been blocked for being perceived as both. —Actually, I’m honestly more anti-AI than pro-AI thus far, aside from specialized models and specific use cases, but I’m willing to consider information that’s new to me
AI is eating website traffic, websites are blocking AI – and reliable information is getting harder to find
How Much of the Internet Is Written With AI?
Meet the Serbian Businessman/DJ Who Runs the Zombie AI Southwest Journal - Racket
Google Search's guidance about AI-generated content | Google Search Central Blog | Google for Developers
Google News Is Boosting Garbage AI-Generated Articles
Copy of Digital Masquerade
