HTTP content negotiation was a good idea which decouples content from form, but only as far as format selection.
Generative models are able to transform content between media types, and it feels like the original intention can be completed -- the server generates the appropriate form at request time, rather than serving a pre-rendered one.
A concrete example: an Image2Depth model estimates the depth of a scene from a standard image, encodes that information in the response, and returns it to clients capable of rendering depth -- 3D displays, VR headsets, and so on. The content is the same; the form is specialised to the client capabilities.
Generative models are able to transform content between media types, and it feels like the original intention can be completed -- the server generates the appropriate form at request time, rather than serving a pre-rendered one.
A concrete example: an Image2Depth model estimates the depth of a scene from a standard image, encodes that information in the response, and returns it to clients capable of rendering depth -- 3D displays, VR headsets, and so on. The content is the same; the form is specialised to the client capabilities.