Analyzing Generative AI Through the Lens of 1960s Media Theory

As the global technology sector grapples with the rapid expansion of generative artificial intelligence, venture capitalists and investors continue to sink billions of dollars into AI companies and data centres. Driven by the belief that AI will fundamentally change the world, the market is currently debating whether AI is merely a powerful tool to embrace or a distinct type of intelligence.

An alternative perspective suggests viewing platforms like ChatGPT and Claude not as isolated tools, but as new mediums that reshape our communicative environment. To understand where this technology is heading, industry observers are looking back at the works of two 1960s thinkers: Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan and French theorist Guy Debord.

McLuhan famously observed a recurring pattern in media history. New media are initially used to replicate content from older formats—just as the printing press initially reproduced the Bible, early television relied on theatre and radio, and the internet was primarily used for electronic mail and file exchanges. Eventually, however, novel kinds of content emerge that are native to the new medium, such as reality television and 24-hour news.

Generative AI is currently in a similar early phase, with users deploying it to produce conventional content like essays, pop songs, and web pages. However, hints of genuinely native AI-enabled communication are beginning to emerge, such as real-time explorable worlds and linked modules with embedded prompts. In McLuhan's framework, "the medium is the message," indicating that interfacing with AI systems over long periods will fundamentally alter how humans experience the world.

Meanwhile, Guy Debord argued in his 1967 work, The Society of the Spectacle, that capitalist societies naturally proliferate media technologies that turn human lives into sequences of engagements with commodified representations. Debord predicted that technology would mediate spontaneous human experiences, a trend that expanded further during the mobile and social media eras.

According to this theoretical perspective, AI expands what can be mediated and monetized even further. Companies possess significant financial incentives to invest in technologies that capture human attention and shape behavior, as whoever invents the next dominant digital platform stands to reap major economic payouts. Debord's analysis suggests that AI will take technological mediation further into daily life, potentially encompassing entertainment, exercise, sleep, friendships, and romance.

While this trajectory benefits economic indicators like GDP, theorists warn it may increase human alienation and distract from direct sensory experiences. Conversely, proponents argue that AI could positively reshape the media environment by reducing administrative workloads, performative assessments, and time spent on menial tasks.

Ultimately, thinkers suggest that the future of AI is not inevitable. By evaluating AI as a transformative medium rather than a simple utility, businesses and society can better navigate how these technologies alter our communicative environment.

"As capital continues to flow heavily into artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, businesses and entrepreneurs must recognize that AI is not just another software tool. It is a fundamental shift in our communicative environment. For founders and investors, understanding AI as a new medium means looking beyond short-term productivity gains and anticipating how these technologies will reshape consumer behavior, attention economies, and societal engagement in the years ahead." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes