AI Agents and the Public Sphere: The Collapse of Democratic Discourse in the Age of the "Dead Internet"

This article explores the decline of the public sphere amid automated content generation, algorithmic mediation, and AI agents. Drawing on Habermas and its critiques, it examines how digital platforms have undermined the conditions for democratic discourse. Automated bots now generate over half of all internet traffic, with malicious bots accounting for 37%, while Section 230 protections shield platforms from liability, blurring the line between genuine opinion and manufactured consensus. The article argues that the traditional link between capitalism and liberal democracy has been disrupted, and, as seen in China and some other successful global economic powers, economic growth can occur without liberal institutions. Big tech firms, operating under these dynamics, have little incentive to uphold democratic functions, and without substantial regulatory intervention, the collapse of the public sphere threatens the foundations of Western liberal governance.