Initialization and Rate-Quality Functions for Generative Network Layer Protocols

Abstract

Generative AI (GenAI) creates full content based on compact encodings. While GenAI has been used for applications where the generated content is returned to the encoding sender, it can also extend the capacity of communication networks by transmitting compact encodings through capacity-limited links, then generating and forwarding approximations from the GenAI node to the destination. This poses the challenge of evaluating approximation quality as a function of the rate between the source and GenAI node, while accounting for the communication overhead of learning. We present a method- and modality-agnostic initialization protocol for learning rate-quality functions in GenAI-aided networks, defining three variants: source-, node-, and destination-oriented, each with different messaging flows based on where quality is measured. The protocol augments node discovery protocols (e.g., MCP, A2A) when sources lack confidence in advertised model performance. We illustrate operation via a minimum estimation budget calculated using a distribution-free tolerance limit , and validate using a case study on image transmission under quality constraints. Results confirm the calculated budget meets the target quality requirement, with positive gains over JPEG after around 20 post-learning transmissions for a perceptual metric and more than 100 for a goal-oriented metric, providing a practical foundation for GenAI-based network compression.