Ruined By The Internet? | Uncovering the human cost of our digital world cover art

Ruined By The Internet? | Uncovering the human cost of our digital world

Ruined By The Internet? | Uncovering the human cost of our digital world

By: Gareth King
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Is the internet really ruining everything, or are we just looking at it wrong? Ruined By The Internet? uses technology as a lens to investigate its effects on society, culture, and modern life. Not products. Not industry news. The human costs of the digital world we all inhabit - whether we wanted them or not. Through conversations with psychologists, musicians, political scientists, FBI investigators, anthropologists, economists, researchers, and experts from every field technology has touched, each episode takes a social or cultural focal point and examines it from every angle. How is social media changing us? Is AI reshaping human behaviour? And what are the real consequences of our very online lives? Ruined By The Internet? is created, hosted and produced by Gareth King. New investigations drop regularly - follow or subscribe wherever you listen. Visit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/ Share your thoughts: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishow/Gareth King Hygiene & Healthy Living Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Science: Has Rigour Been Sacrificed for Reach? | Predatory Publishing, AI-Generated Research, Scientific Fraud & Public Trust

    Science: Has Rigour Been Sacrificed for Reach? | Predatory Publishing, AI-Generated Research, Scientific Fraud & Public Trust
    Aug 4 2026
    The internet promised a new era of science – one of open collaboration, democratised access, and knowledge freed from institutional gatekeepers. But has it instead created an ecosystem where fraudulent papers and AI-generated junk research are often indistinguishable from the real thing?Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? – the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life – whether we want it to or not.Follow or subscribe to never miss the next investigation. https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/We're joined by Kent Anderson and Joy Moore - veterans of scientific publishing with over 50 combined years of experience - who have watched the self-built infrastructure science uses to regulate itself get systematically upended, and often from within. Their new book How the Internet Disrupted Science is out now.In this episode we investigate how the shift to open access publishing opened the door to predatory journals and paper mills, examine how AI and LLMs are flooding the scientific ecosystem with automated unverified research, explore how the attention economy is stripping science of context and turning it into partisan weaponry, and ask whether the self-regulating infrastructure of science can survive the digital age - or whether it's already too late.(00:00) Has the internet ruined science, and how did we get here?(01:12) The emergence of systemic problems in scientific publishing(04:57) The fundamental mismatch between slow science and fast digital platforms(06:51) Predatory publishing and fake papers: what they look like and how they spread(09:37) The scale of problematic and AI-generated content in scientific literature(15:25) How misinformation in science affects public health and policy decisions(20:02) The role of AI and LLMs in accelerating scientific fraud(25:13) Public trust, the attention economy, and what science communication has become(31:12) The democratisation of science: genuine benefit or Trojan horse?(34:43) How social media headlines are distorting public understanding of research(39:28) The new generation of digital-native scientists: problem or solution?(42:19) The single most dangerous consequence of what the internet has done to science(43:15) The future of science and technology governance(45:09) Section 230, platform regulation, and who is actually accountable(47:15) AI inference engines and the concerns nobody is talking about loudly enoughKey takeaways:• The Producer Pays Trap: The shift from reader-paid subscriptions to open access created an economic incentive to push volume over quality - opening the door for predatory publishers and schemes designed purely to churn out papers for profit• AI Degrading Scientific Integrity: Generative AI and LLMs are flooding the ecosystem with automated unverified research - creating over 1.2 million problematic papers and counting• Weaponisation in the Attention Economy: Scientific research is increasingly stripped of context, turned into clickbait, and co-opted to support partisan narratives, sell questionable products, or influence public policy• Fundamental Misunderstanding of How Science Works: Bad actors routinely misuse isolated papers as definitive proof for sweeping claims - when true science is iterative, community-driven, and not a tool for confirmation bias or algorithmic outrageIf this episode got you thinking, check out:Journalism & News: From Fact-Checking to Attention-Seeking? | Media Trust, Misinformation & Citizen Journalism https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/MmJlMjUwNTAtNDQzNy00ZWQ0LWFkOWYtMTJhM2IwNzM1NGRhSleep: Screens Stealing Our Slumber? | Screen Time, Sleep Science & Digital Wellbeing https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/N2NlNGQ3ZmItYTk1Yy00MjRlLTk5YjAtMmUyODM0OTRlNTQzThe Internet: A Corporate Hijacking of Digital Freedom? | Big Tech, Digital Censorship & Online Freedom https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/MmIzMDA0ZTQtMDA1Ny00OTE1LTkyY2QtNjhhM2NlMzJmODdhGuest links – Kent Anderson & Joy MooreWebsite: https://www.disruptedscience.com/Podcast: https://disruptedscience.podbean.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DisruptedScienceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kentranderson/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-moore-a94865Join the investigationVisit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/Share your thoughts: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishow
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    51 mins
  • Helping People: Has Empathy Turned Us into Targets? | Online Scams, Digital Deception, Cyber Safety & the Psychology of Trust

    Helping People: Has Empathy Turned Us into Targets? | Online Scams, Digital Deception, Cyber Safety & the Psychology of Trust
    Jul 19 2026
    We used to rely on biological cues to verify a stranger in need. But in a faceless digital world full of scams and deception, has our empathy become a liability - and left us in a state of permanent suspicion?Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? – the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life – whether we want it to or not.Follow or subscribe to never miss the next investigation. https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/We’re joined by Travis Simcox, a cyber threat hunter and former cognitive science researcher – a combination that makes him uniquely placed to tell us what the digital world is doing to our instinct to help.In this episode we investigate how the internet transformed scams from local nuisances into a global industry, examine how AI is dramatically amplifying the sophistication and emotional manipulation of digital deception, and ask whether the era of the inherent high-trust society is gone forever - or whether there's a way back.(00:00) The digital shift in trust and what it's done to our instinct to help(02:07) Scale of online scams: from village communities to virtual identities(04:15) High trust societies versus the permanent mistrust the internet created(05:45) Modern phishing: far beyond the basics most people know about(08:42) The rise of romance and investment scams and the psychology behind them(11:03) The Golden Triangle: a hub for untouchable cybercrime operating beyond the law(16:16) Emerging scams: executive gift card and overpayment fraud(20:10) How AI is supercharging scam sophistication and emotional manipulation(25:56) Can regulation and individual vigilance actually counter AI-driven scams?(39:58) Practical protective strategies for individuals and businesses(42:59) The permanence of digital mistrust, and what that means for how we liveKey takeaways:• Illusion of Scale: The internet allows a single malicious actor to project dozens of fake identities simultaneously - completely undermining the natural societal balance of trust that biological cues once maintained• The Confidence Gap and AI: While headlines focus on AI writing malware, the more insidious threat is generative AI telling low-level scammers exactly what to say to emotionally manipulate victims - lowering the barrier to sophisticated deception dramatically• The Devastation of Pig Butchering: The most financially and socially destructive digital scams are long-term investment or romantic setups that systematically drain victims until they've alienated friends, pawned belongings, and sold their homes - leaving them entirely destitute• Permanently Broken High-Trust Society: Because global digital connectivity bypasses local law enforcement and enables lawless operations in special economic zones, the era of inherent high-trust society may be permanently goneIf this episode got you thinking, check out:The Internet: A Corporate Hijacking of Digital Freedom? | Big Tech, Digital Censorship & Online Freedom https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/MmIzMDA0ZTQtMDA1Ny00OTE1LTkyY2QtNjhhM2NlMzJmODdhTrust in Information: The End of Believing Our Own Eyes? | Misinformation, Media Trust, AI & Digital Literacy https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/MGMwN2YyNzItZmU3Yy00Njk0LTkxNWYtYmU5NDdkN2VkY2Y3Child Safety: Public Platforms Full of Private Predators? | Online Safety, Cyberbullying, Social Media & Digital Parenting https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/M2U3MWEyMGEtM2I3NC00ZjUxLTk0YzItYTY3NDhmZjUwNTBmGuest links – Travis SimcoxWebsite: https://behindthesurface.netYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Behind_The_SurfaceLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tsimcoxJoin the investigationVisit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/Share your thoughts: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishow
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    45 mins
  • Digital Humanity: From Real Minds to Synthetic Hallucination? | AI, LLMs, Identity, Consciousness & Authenticity

    Digital Humanity: From Real Minds to Synthetic Hallucination? | AI, LLMs, Identity, Consciousness & Authenticity
    Jul 5 2026
    The internet promised to be a vast global network of human thought and connection. But as the digital ecosystem is increasingly choked by synthetic content and non-human users, is the internet’s true premium – the certainty of human thought – being destroyed?Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? – the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life – whether we want it to or not.Follow or subscribe to never miss the next investigation. https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/We’re joined by David Schmudde, Chief Technology Officer at Yorba, where he specialises in how our identities fit into an increasingly digital world – putting him at the very heart of everything we’re asking today.In this episode we investigate how synthetic content and AI are eroding the foundations of digital identity and human authenticity, examine the political and economic implications of a world where AI mirrors rather than challenges the assumptions of its creators, and ask whether the internet can still function as a space for genuine human thought - or whether that premium has already been lost.(00:00) The promise and peril of the internet: what we were told and what we got(03:04) Social media's role in shaping and distorting digital identity(06:03) AI and the blurring line between human and machine identity(08:47) The political context of AI: who builds it and what that means(12:08) The limits of LLMs and where the technology actually falls short(15:05) Cognitive dependency: what happens when we outsource our thinking to AI(17:47) Art, identity, and the question of what AI can and can't replace(20:56) The future of work and what AI does to the labour market(23:53) Legislation versus innovation: can the law keep pace with digital identity?(27:00) Hope for the future of digital identity: what it could look likeKey takeaways:• Findability Crisis: While an unimaginable amount of genuine human content still exists, centralised platforms and AI slop have severely broken findability - making human creation much harder to discover than it should be• Political Bias of AI: AI is inherently politically conservative because it is trained entirely on past human data, lacking forward-looking intuition, while its validating tone mirrors the cultural dispositions of the figures who build it• Productivity-Wage Trap: Historically, major technological leaps dramatically slash labour costs and scale productivity - but these gains flatten real wages and eliminate jobs, driving profits straight to the top• Identity as Democratic Guardrail: The future of online infrastructure requires secure, anonymous verification systems that prove a user is human without implementing state-mandated or corporate trackingIf this episode got you thinking, check out:Empowerment: Objectification Rebranded as Agency? | Digital Monetisation & the Attention Economy https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/YTVjZDI5NjYtOWUzZC00ZDQ4LWFkZWUtYWViZjlmMjRmYjUxThe Human Identity: Authenticity or Algorithmic Performance? | Social Media, Digital Identity & Online Personas https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/YzU1NjhlYzYtMDVjNC00ODJkLTgzYjQtMzBhNDcwN2RkZTJiBrand Trust: The Era of Algorithmic Enshittification? | Marketing, Surveillance Capitalism & Digital Advertising https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/YjBkYzg1OTktMWQ5OC00N2JmLWEwNjMtNWIwMDkxZmQ2N2I1Guest links – David SchmuddeWebsite: https://schmud.deInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/schmudde/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmudde/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/schmudde.bsky.socialJoin the investigationVisit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/Share your thoughts: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishow
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    35 mins
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