AI detection startup Pangram raises $9M, partners with Substack

Pangram co-founder and CEO Max Spero discussed the company's work on TechCrunch's Equity podcast. He said the internet could be "dangerously close" to the dead internet theory becoming reality within a few years, as AI-generated text and images turn up in job applications, product reviews and insurance claims, leaving platforms and users scrambling to figure out what is real.

Spero said figuring out how much AI was involved in a piece of content is harder and potentially more useful than simply labeling it AI or human. He also emphasized the risks of AI-detection errors, especially when false positives involve sensitive images. On the future of writing, he said the "bottom tier" of writing jobs may be gone for good, while genuinely good human writing could become more valuable.

Substack is using Pangram's technology to show readers which authors use AI to write newsletters. Pangram is among a handful of startups that have emerged to act as a "trust layer" for an internet increasingly filled with AI-generated posts, reviews and claims.