--- title: "Experts: 90% of Online Content Will Be AI-Generated by 2026" description: "According to a new report from Europol, we have all the reason in the world to be extra vigilant about what we consume online." date: "2022-09-18" modified: "2022-09-18" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/experts-90-online-content-ai-generated" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "artificial intelligence" - "disinformation" - "the digest" --- # Experts: 90% of Online Content Will Be AI-Generated by 2026 ![According to a new report from Europol, we have all the reason in the world to be extra vigilant about what we consume online.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Fake It 'Til You Break It "Don't believe everything you see on the Internet" has been pretty standard advice for quite some time now. And [according to a new report]() from European law enforcement group Europol, we have all the reason in the world to step up that vigilance. "Experts estimate that as much as 90 percent of online content may be synthetically generated by 2026," the report warned, adding that synthetic media "refers to media generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence." "In most cases, synthetic media is generated for gaming, to improve services or to improve the quality of life," the report continued, "but the increase in synthetic media and improved technology has given rise to disinformation possibilities." ## Disinformation Station As it probably goes without saying: 90 percent is a pretty jarring number. Of course, people have already become accustomed — to a degree — to the presence of bots, and AI-generated text-to-image programs have certainly been making big waves. Still, [our default]() isn't necessarily to assume that *almost everything* we come into digital contact with might be, well, fake. "On a daily basis, people trust their own perception to guide them and tell them what is real and what is not," reads the Europol report. "Auditory and visual recordings of an event are often treated as a truthful account of an event. But what if these media can be generated artificially, adapted to show events that never took place, to misrepresent events, or to distort the truth?" ## Many Questions, Few Answers The report focused pretty heavily on disinformation, notably that driven by [deepfake technology](). But that 90 percent figure raises other questions, too — what do [AI systems like Dall-E]() and [GPT-3]() mean for artists, writers, and other content-generating creators? And circling back to disinformation once more, what will the dissemination of information, not to mention the consumption of it, actually look like in an era driven by that degree of AI-generated digital stuff? Ultimately, we're all trying to understand our rapidly evolving digital world — and so, our physical one, too — as it happens. But to that point: we'd do well to remember that big changes are very much in the works. Don't proceed with, you know, paralyzing fear. But [proceeding with some caution]() is probably a good idea. **More on creepy AI revelations:** [*They Put Gpt-3 into That Robot with Creepily Realistic Facial Expressions and Yikes*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()