What Happens After the Death of Social Media? (tech.slashdot.org)

A humanities lecturer argues social media is entering its “last days” as platforms become flooded with AI-generated low-effort content—clickbait, listicles and Midjourney‑style images—pushed by synthetic accounts that are cheap, tireless and lucrative. Research and usage metrics back this claim: average engagement on Facebook and X posts is now around 0.15%, Instagram engagement fell 24% year‑on‑year, and fewer than half of American adults now call social media information “mostly reliable.” Recommender systems optimized for attention (time on site, impressions, scroll velocity) amplify engineered content and spam, sidelining genuine peer‑to‑peer interaction and prompting creators and younger users to take breaks or quit. The significance for AI/ML is twofold: generative models and automation are materially reshaping information ecosystems and perverse economic incentives are steering recommender design toward attention maximization rather than signal quality. Responses already emerging include migration to private, opt‑in micro‑communities (Discord, group chats, Substack, Patreon) and platform pivots toward DMs and subscriber circles. Proposed technical and policy fixes call for transparent, auditable algorithms, open‑source alternative recommenders, user representation in governance, and incentive structures (procurement/tax benefits, civic‑impact certification) to reward platforms that prioritize trust, autonomy and democratic value over raw engagement.