The K-Pg Boundary of 2022
Geological history marks catastrophic transitions through boundary layers—thin strata of ash, iridium, or extinction signatures that separate one epoch from another. The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary marks the end of the dinosaurs.
The digital equivalent occurred in late 2022, with the public release of large language models (LLMs). Before this date, the overwhelming majority of text on the internet was human-authored. After this date, the proportion of synthetic content began an exponential climb.
The Collapse of Provenance
The defining characteristic of the Synthetocene is the "pollution of provenance." In the previous epoch (the Anthropocene of the web), "content" was assumed to be the product of human intent. In the Synthetocene, this assumption is inverted.
This creates a dual crisis for the Digital Archaeologist:
- The Crisis of Noise: The "digital dust" is no longer just abandoned human artifacts; it is contaminated with "digital plastic"—synthetic simulations of artifacts.
- The Crisis of Authenticity: The ability to distinguish human intent from algorithmic probability becomes the primary forensic challenge.
Field Notes
Low-Background Steel Metaphor: Just as steel forged before the atomic age is essential for sensitive instruments because it lacks radioactive contamination, the "pre-2022 web" represents an increasingly finite and valuable corpus of "pure" human expression.
Timeline:
Pre-2022: The Anthropocene (Human Dominance).
2022-Present: The Synthetocene (Synthetic Pollution).
2026 (Projected): The "Dead Internet" Horizon (90% synthetic traffic).