Generative AI as a Mediator in Creator Collaboration: Challenges, Design Opportunities, and Concerns

Abstract

As Generative AI (GenAI) expands beyond individual workflows and becomes increasingly integrated intocollaborative creative work, its potential to address the fundamental challenge of building common groundamong creators with diverse expertise remains underexplored. Specifically, we lack empirical understandingof how GenAI can mediate collaboration asymmetries among heterogeneous creators. To address this gap,we conducted a multi-method study with narrative writers (N = 10) and visual designers (N = 10) in thecontext of game development. Our findings demonstrate that GenAI goes beyond individual assistance toserve as a collaborative mediator by aligning creative intent, sustaining shared understanding, and mitigatinginterpersonal friction among creators. At the same time, we highlight concerns that GenAI may reducecommunication among creators, undermine mutual trust, and reshape interpersonal dynamics and collaborativeprocesses. Based on these insights, we identify design opportunities for GenAI tools that nurture collaborativesynergy while preserving the creativity and values of human work.