How the Platform-Creator Dyadic Relationship Reconfigures Internet Communication Power in the Boom of Generative AI Visual Media Creation
TL;DR
It is argued that AIGC platforms do not simply de-professionalise or decentralise creation, but it also obscures the continuing value of professional expertise and widen entry while re-concentrating key forms of production, distribution, and definitional power.
Abstract
This article examines the platform-creator dyadic relationship that has taken shape around generative AI visual media. Rather than asking only whether AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) lowers the technical threshold of image and video production, it asks how platforms rearrange Internet communication power through infrastructure, algorithms, data capture, and visibility allocation. Drawing on Manuel Castells's theory of communication power, the study develops a three-part account of production power, distribution power, and definitional power in AIGC platforms. The analysis combines theoretical interpretation, public platform cases, and practice-based observation. It argues that AIGC platforms do not simply de-professionalise or decentralise creation. Their low-threshold rhetoric invites ordinary users into visual production, but it also obscures the continuing value of professional expertise. Platform control over models, credits, computing resources, and interfaces then turns creative capacity into a conditionally accessible service. Algorithmic black boxes and traffic recommendation systems further shape how works circulate, are evaluated, and acquire value. AIGC platforms therefore widen entry while re-concentrating key forms of production, distribution, and definitional power. The study offers a cautious framework for creators, platform observers, and scholars of communication power.