Agentic Media: Reimagining the Future of Communication

Traditional media systems model communication as a linear transfer of static content from author to reader, mediated by largely passive tools. This model enforces rigid separations between creation and consumption, fragments communicative processes, and constrains collaboration as meaning evolves over time. We introduce Agentic Media, a communication paradigm in which media participate in the construction and negotiation of meaning by embedding communicative intent, retaining interactional context, and supporting adaptive engagement. Within this paradigm, communication is reframed as an ongoing process of expression, exploration, interpretation, and reflection, rather than the delivery of finalized artifacts. We articulate the conceptual foundations for reasoning about how communication can be structured when media are treated as active participants in communicative processes. Building on this framing, we outline research opportunities for HCI and AI that shift attention from artifact manipulation toward communication-centric computing. This work aims to broaden how computing supports sustained communication, collaboration, and meaning-making among people in AI-enabled environments.