The New Meta for Silicon Valley Startups Is Nihilism
6 hours ago
- #digital ethics
- #AI startups
- #social media manipulation
- Silicon Valley's new generation of startups in the AI era is adopting a strategy focused on monetization, even at the cost of destroying existing systems.
- Doublespeed, a VC-backed bot farm, aims to turn dead internet theory into a business by flooding social media with AI agents that mimic authentic accounts to become paid influencers.
- Doublespeed's CEO, Zuhair Lakhani, embraces a dystopian image to gain attention, though the company currently relies on human input and has a waitlist of 6,000 companies.
- Similar companies, like Chaotic Good Projects and Floodify, use tactics such as 'psyops' and 'clip farms' to artificially boost trends and influencers, often circumventing FTC disclosure rules.
- These startups view themselves as extensions of traditional marketing, with Floodify's founder claiming 90% of internet content is disguised advertising, justifying their disruptive approaches.