A thought experiment draws a chilling parallel between the modern internet and Liu Cixin's 'Dark Forest' from the Three-Body Problem. The author argues that just as civilizations in the novel hide to avoid annihilation, developers now conceal their innovations due to AI-driven consolidation. The earlier open internet rewarded signaling ideas and connecting, but today's landscape is dominated by corporations and governments extracting data and capital.

AI tools, while lowering some development costs, centralize power in platforms that own compute, models, and developer data. This creates a 'cognitive dark forest' where hiding becomes the safest strategy, risking the decline of public innovation spaces like forums and blogs. The paradox is that AI, built on human openness, may ultimately stifle it.