Reconfiguring Cultural Discount Through Technological Mediation

in Algorithmic Diffusion Landscapes

Hong Wang

Art college, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

Keywords: Cultural Discount, Algorithmic Diffusion, Technological Mediation.

Abstract: This study investigates how algorithmic platforms reconfigure cultural discount dynamics through

technological mediation. Analyzing cases like Squid Game and One Cut of Plum, it proposes a "semiotic

transduction–traffic allocation–collective remixing" model to decode cross-cultural value negotiations in

digital ecosystems. Combining biosensing and algorithm-augmented ethnography, findings reveal dual

platform effects: user-driven remixing converts cultural differences into engagement capital, while

algorithmic visibility hierarchies perpetuate symbolic inequalities. The research identifies glocalization

synergy mechanisms where regional algorithmic sovereignty and micro-copyright systems balance global

scalability with cultural authenticity. Challenging static cultural distance theories, it demonstrates cultural

discounts as sociotechnical constructs shaped by platform architectures. A "technology-culture-institution"

framework is proposed to design adaptive algorithms and cooperative governance models, advancing

intercultural communication in algorithm-driven environments.

1 INTRODUCTION

In today's intensely mediated society, the classical

model of cultural discounting proposed by Hoskins

and Mirus (Hoskins, C., & Mirus, R., 1988) attributes

the value loss of cultural products in cross-cultural

communication to the linear cumulative effect of

cultural distance. Its core assumptions are based on

the perception of unidirectional communication and

static cultural differences. However, the difference in

communication efficacy between the viral spread of

"One Cut of Plum" on the TikTok platform and the

global diffusion of Netflix's "Squid Game" exposes

the theory's explanatory blind spot in the digital

media ecology. The former, as a classic Chinese song,

has achieved cross-cultural fission in Non-Chinese-

Speaking circles through user-initiated variable-

speed editing (XueHuaPiaoPiao Challenge), dialect

adaptation, and fanfic creation in the absence of a

Netflix-style globalized distribution system, and its

trajectory of dissemination shows significant

"decentralization" characteristics; the latter, although

relying on the platform's algorithms to synchronize its

launch in more than 190 countries, has triggered

controversial interpretations in the Arab region due to

a lack of cultural adaptation. This paradox shows that

the mechanism of technological affordances on

cultural discounts has transcended the causal chain of

"cultural distance-value depreciation" presupposed

by traditional theories (Jin, 2016; Netflix, 2022) and

has been restructured through the triple intermediary

of "dynamic transduction-algorithmic visibility-

participatory reproduction" to reconstruct the

effectiveness of communication.

Couldry and Hepp's (2017) theory of

mediatization provides a key explanatory framework

for this dynamic reconfiguration of cultural discount

mechanisms through technological affordances.

Rather than simply expanding the reach of cultural

products, technological availability alters the

generative logic of cultural discounts by reshaping the

relational networks of communication practices. In

the case of "One Cut Plum", TikTok's "Affordance of

Challenge" feature activates participatory creation,

which deconstructs the cultural context of the original

song into reconfigurable symbolic components:

European and American teenagers collage the lyrics

of "Snowflake Floating" with short videos of winter

landscapes, dissolving the aesthetics of oriental

sadness embedded in the original song, but

constructing an "emotional lingua franca" for cross-

cultural resonance. This phenomenon of semiotic

guerrilla warfare is essentially a creative

Wang, H.

Reconﬁguring Cultural Discount Through Technological Mediation in Algorithmic Diffusion Landscapes.

DOI: 10.5220/0013995200004916

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication (PRMC 2025), pages 503-510

ISBN: 978-989-758-778-8

503

transformation of cultural discounts driven by the

availability of technology — through technology-

enabled reproduction, users transform the cultural

heterogeneity that might otherwise lead to discounts

into "differential attraction." On the other hand, in the

case of The Squid Game. "Netflix's global distribution

strategy, covering more than 190 countries as of

2021, prioritizes AI-driven localization tools like

automated subtitling, yet faces criticism for

insufficient cultural adaptation — exemplified by

controversies over South Korean-Pakistani narratives

conflicting with Islamic values in Arab regions (Jin,

2016; Netflix, 2022)."This comparison confirms that

the efficacy of technological availability in

reconfiguring cultural discounts depends on the

degree of coupling between technological logic and

cultural transduction mechanisms: when platforms

use availability only as an instrumental means of

expansion (e.g., Netflix's globalized assembly line

model), it may exacerbate the implicit accumulation

of cultural discounts; while when availability

activates symbolic transduction with user

participation, it can realize the value-added

transformation of cultural heterogeneity.

This finding has a double implication for

intercultural communication theory: first, the nature

of "cultural discount" in Hoskins and Mirus' model is

a product of the centralized communication structure

in the pre-digital era, and its theoretical premises

(e.g., unidirectional flow, institutional dominance,

and static cultural encoding) have undergone a

paradigm change in the "production-consumption"

ecosystem driven by technological availability

(Jenkins, H. 2006; Couldry, N., & Hepp, A., 2017);

second, there is a dimension of "politics of visibility"

in the mechanism of generating cultural discounts on

digital platforms, where algorithmic recommendation

filters and empowers cultural symbols (e.g., TikTok

prioritizes the promotion of dance challenges over

opera soundtracks) may create a new type of cultural

compartmentalization through "symbolic

annihilation." (Gillespie, 2014; van Dijck, J., Poell,

T., & de Waal, M., 2018) This requires researchers to

go beyond the cultural determinism of traditional

theories and focus on how technological availability

is embedded in the "processual negotiation" of

cultural discounts, i.e., cultural values are no longer

determined by a priori differences alone but are

continuously reconfigured in human-computer

collaborative communication practices.

This paper attempts to answer the question: How

do algorithmic visibility and participatory

reproduction—operating through the tripartite lens of

semiotic transduction, traffic allocation, and

collective remixing — fundamentally reconfigure the

"cultural distance-value depreciation" causality

posited by classical cultural discount theory? What

dialectical tensions emerge when technological

affordances simultaneously act as discount mitigators

(through user-driven symbolic reinvention) and

discount amplifiers (via algorithmic symbolic

annihilation), and how do these contradictions

reshape power geometries in intercultural

communication? Through what mechanisms can

platform affordance design, crowdsourced cultural

transduction, and regional algorithmic sovereignty

coalesce to transform global-local synergy from

surface-level adaptation to ecosystemic resonance,

thereby transcending the zero-sum game between

technological scale and cultural fidelity?

2 FROM STATIC TO DYNAMIC

Hofstede's (2001) theory of cultural dimensions

codifies power distance and individualism as fixed

metrics for quantifying cultural differences,

effectively reducing the mechanism of cultural

discounting to a static "cultural distance function."

This framework encounters empirical contradictions

when applied to contemporary digital phenomena.

For instance, The Squid Game sparked simultaneous

viewing frenzies in South Korea and Sweden—

nations with divergent power distance indices—

where audience receptivity to the drama's class

oppression narrative exhibited minimal variance

relative to theoretical predictions (Jin, D. Y., 2016).

A more profound theoretical tension emerges in

Bilibili's cross-cultural transmission of Cells at Work,

this Japanese anime, rooted in high-context cultural

production, achieves remarkable semantic fidelity in

low-context communication environments through

bullet-comment interactions (Matthes, J., & Wirth,

W. 2020; Wang, J. F., 2020). These anomalies reveal

how the traditional quantification of cultural

discounts overlooks digitally mediated dynamic

transduction processes.

Jenkins's (2006) participatory culture theory

offers a reconceptualization of this phenomenon. In

the global dissemination of Genshin Impact's

character Zhongli," players' derivative creations

exemplify technologically enabled symbolic

reconstruction. The mythic Chinese figure of the

"Geo Archon" is deconstructed into universal value

signifiers like "contractual ethos" and "security,"

which are then reconstituted through MMD

animations and cosplay communities into a

transcultural "value commons." This participatory

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transduction mechanism aligns with Straubhaar's

nonlinear communication model, wherein

technological mediation enables audiences to

dynamically generate cultural proximity through

symbolic reinterpretation (Straubhaar, J. D.,1991).

Empirical studies demonstrate how players leverage

3D modeling to adapt traditional motifs into mecha

aesthetics, facilitating cross-cultural cognitive

resonance.

This paradigm shift deconstructs cultural discount

theory through three critical axes. First is the collapse

of dimensional metrics: Hofstede's cultural indices

are inadequate in user-generated contexts. Sichuan

Opera face-changing videos, for example, utilize

speed modulation to transmute culturally specific

knowledge into instantaneously accessible content,

rendering quantitative cultural differences obsolete as

predictive tools. Second, reconfiguring cultural

proximity: Straubhaar's original conception of

audience preference for culturally proximate content

is redefined through Genshin Impact's bullet-

comment-driven "affective co-creation" (Wang, J.

F.,2020). Third, inversion of discount mechanisms:

Where traditional models position cultural

heterogeneity as inherently devaluing, participatory

practices transform difference into attraction. The

"kawaii" reinterpretation of Cells at Work's platelet

character sparked cross-cultural dialogues on Sino-

Western medical paradigms, converting potential

discount factors into engagement catalysts.

Within technology's "participatory interface,"

cultural discounting evolves from passive value

erosion to an active negotiation. This reorientation

shifts scholarly focus from static "difference

measurement" to dynamic "transduction praxis,"

revealing the complex interplay between

technological affordances and cultural meaning-

making in digital ecosystems.

3 THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

OF TECHNOLOGICAL

AVAILABILITY

The dual role of technological affordances in

mediating cultural discounts manifests as a

paradoxical interplay between compensatory

potential and algorithmic constraints. Levinson's

media compensation theory (Chen, 2020) finds

renewed relevance in cross-cultural contexts: AI-

driven real-time transduction technologies, for

instance, enhance the interactive efficacy of Japanese

VTuber Kagura Nanae's live streams on Bilibili,

transcending the limitations of traditional subtitle-

mediated communication (Wang & Shi, 2021; Chen,

2020). Similarly, the Palace Museum's metaverse-

based virtual exhibitions recontextualize ritual

artifacts into immersive scenographic experiences,

mitigating Western audiences' cognitive barriers

through symbolic transmediation. These cases

exemplify how technological availability

compensates for culturally rooted asymmetries by

reconstructing epistemic access — a process wherein

cultural gaps are bridged through dynamic

remediation rather than passive transduction.

However, this utopian narrative of technological

empowerment collides with the materiality of

algorithmic governance. Gillespie's (2014)

framework of algorithmic bias materializes in

TikTok's traffic allocation logic: While the "Hanfu

Challenge" superficially promotes Chinese

aesthetics, its algorithmic privileging of Euro-

American visual norms (e.g., modified qipao content

over historically accurate horse-face skirts)

perpetuates cultural discounting through symbolic

erasure. Conversely, Xiaohongshu's decentralized

"interest graph" architecture fosters Thai users'

engagement with Yunnan tie-dyeing videos,

suggesting that algorithmic designs rooted in

participatory curation (van Dijck et al., 2018) may

counteract cultural polarization. This bifurcation

underscores a critical tension: technological

affordances do not neutrally "compensate" cultural

gaps but reconfigure power geometries — either

amplifying hegemonic biases or enabling counter-

hegemonic practices, contingent on their embedded

sociotechnical logics.

The dialectics of this phenomenon demand a

relational epistemology of intercultural

communication. Technological mediation does not

merely "add" efficiency to cultural exchange; it

fundamentally restructures the conditions of cultural

legibility. When AI transduction reduces context-

dependent meanings to lexical equivalency (e.g.,

oriental melancholy flattened into "snowflake"

imagery), it risks enacting what Couldry and Hepp

(2017) term thin mediatization. This superficial

integration masks deeper cultural

incommensurability. Conversely, metaverse-enabled

scenographic reconstruction exemplifies thick

mediatization, where multisensory immersion

facilitates hermeneutic depth. Thus, the

compensatory-polarization spectrum reflects not

technological determinism but the co-constitution of

platform architectures, user agency, and cultural

materialities.

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4 GLOBAL LOCALIZED

SYNERGIES

4.1 Dynamic Realization of Cultural

Proximity

Appadurai's (1996) "scape" framework illuminates

the dialectics of global localization. Li Ziqi's Pickled

Fish video employs 4K hyperrealism to construct a

"visual lingua franca," facilitating divergent

interpretations across Southeast Asian markets:

Vietnamese audiences decode it as agrarian

civilizational memory. At the same time, Singaporean

users reinterpret it as urban nostalgia. This symbolic

compression strategy significantly reduces

anticipated cultural discounting by aligning

polysemic signifiers with localized meaning systems

(Hofstede, G.,2001). Similarly, Disney's Mulan

recalibrates cultural proximity by hybridizing filial

piety narratives with individual heroism frameworks

and substituting traditional totems with transcultural

symbols like the "dragon warrior." Such adaptive

mediation reveals cultural proximity not as static

alignment but as a technologically enabled iterative

negotiation process.

4.2 Regional Alliances and Cultural

Resistance

Iwabuchi's (2002) cultural hybridity theory finds

empirical validation in Latin American media

ecosystems. The Spanish-language platform Blim's

Drug Lords in the Wind disrupts Netflix's algorithmic

hegemony through regionally attuned

recommendation systems and participatory UGC

mechanisms. By privileging Latin American

audiences' localized interpretations of narco-drama

tropes, the series exemplifies how technological

availability can subvert cultural imperialism. This

regional coalition model demonstrates the potential

for algorithmic sovereignty reconfiguration to

rebalance communicative power dynamics,

countering homogenizing distribution paradigms

through culturally resonant platform design.

The realization of such localized synergies

necessitates methodological frameworks capable of

capturing both the techno-cultural negotiations in

regional alliances and their micro-level perceptual

impacts. While this section establishes the strategic

importance of culturally attuned platform

architectures, it simultaneously exposes critical

epistemic gaps: How to quantitatively verify the

efficacy of symbolic compression strategies in

reducing cultural discounting? What metrics might

validate whether algorithmic sovereignty

authentically translates into enhanced cross-cultural

resonance? These questions demand transcending

conventional analytical paradigms — a challenge

addressed through the interdisciplinary

methodological innovations proposed in the next

section.

5 METHODOLOGICAL

INNOVATION

5.1 Measurement Challenges for

Non-Visual Semiotics

Prevailing cultural discount measurement paradigms

exhibit pronounced visual-centric biases. A cross-

cultural study of ASMR-mediated soundscapes

reveals critical limitations: ambient sounds in

Chinese bamboo weaving craft videos elicited

significant discomfort among Euro-American

audiences — a phenomenon largely undetected by

traditional visual-dominant assessment frameworks.

This methodological blind spot becomes particularly

salient in the algorithmic reconstruction of abstract

concepts like neijuan (involution). When TikTok's

recommendation systems reframed the term as a

positive "hustle culture" signifier among Southeast

Asian youth, the semantic divergence from its

original sociocultural connotations underscored the

inadequacy of conventional measurement models in

capturing symbolic reappropriation dynamics (van

Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M., 2018; Wang, J. F.,

2020).

5.2 Interdisciplinary Convergence in

Research Paradigms

Van Dijck et al.'s (2018) platform society theory

catalyzes methodological innovation to address these

epistemic gaps. A synergistic approach integrating

neurocognitive experiments with computational

ethnography proves instrumental in demystifying

algorithmic black boxes. Eye-tracking methodologies

mapping users' visual trajectories (through gaze

duration and pupillary response metrics) can be

triangulated with platform-derived behavioral data

(completion rates, sharing patterns) to construct

multimodal cultural discount assessment frameworks

(Matthes, J., & Wirth, W.,2020). This ecological

methodology bridges micro-level perceptual

processing with macro-platform logic, aligning with

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Matthes and Wirth's call for neuromarketing-

informed communication research.

Adaptation model. For instance, when the

transduction efficiency index reveals semiotic

overloading in Southeast Asian users' reinterpretation

of the Chinese "neijuan (involution)" symbol,

blockchain-enabled dynamic copyright protocols

within the algorithmic sovereignty framework can

activate regional creators' collaborative

deconstruction and reinterpretation of the original

symbol. Simultaneously, the recommendation

system's cultural sensitivity thresholds can be

dynamically adjusted based on nonlinear fluctuations

in user reproduction behaviors identified through

time-series analysis. This closed-loop design—from

measurement to intervention — fundamentally

reconfigures the operational paradigm of algorithmic

power: quantitative indicators of semiotic

transduction efficiency no longer merely serve as

evaluative metrics for communication outcomes.

Instead, through their encoding into neuro-symbolic

computing frameworks as meta-rules for algorithmic

decision-making, the negotiation processes of

cultural meaning become deeply embedded within

the technical schema of platform infrastructures.

Consequently, the methodological "processual turn"

and the governance-oriented "sovereignty

reconfiguration" achieve theoretical symbiosis. The

cultural discount generation mechanisms unveiled by

the Dynamic Semiotic Transduction Index, via

engineering transformations of algorithmic

explainability, directly inform updates to distributed

cultural databases, trigger conditions for human-

machine collaborative auditing, and weight

configurations in value distribution models.

Ultimately, this facilitates a paradigmatic leap in

cross-cultural communication research — from

explanatory theories to generative infrastructural

frameworks.

6 FUTURE PERSPECTIVES AND

INNOVATIVE RESPONSES

6.1 Theoretical Dimension:

Constructing a "Process" Research

Paradigm for Dynamic Cultural

Discounting

Current academic research predominantly

conceptualizes cultural discount as a static metric for

evaluating communication outcomes, overlooking its

dynamic formation and negotiable nature within

digital ecosystems. To address this theoretical

limitation, future studies could develop a process-

oriented "Dynamic Tracking Model of Cultural

Discount," which employs a dual measurement

framework integrating diachronic and synchronic

perspectives to unveil the fluid mechanisms

underlying cultural discount fluctuations. This model

synthesizes two analytical dimensions: time-series

analysis and semiotic transduction efficiency. From

the diachronic perspective, longitudinal tracking

methodologies would monitor the evolutionary

trajectory of discount rates throughout transnational

dissemination cycles. For instance, non-linear

regression models could reveal how participatory

communication induces phased fluctuations in

cultural discount by analyzing user-generated

reproduction behaviors (e.g., the volume of second-

generation videos, iteration cycles of meme

derivatives) for domestic TV series on overseas

streaming platforms within three months post-release.

Concurrently, the synchronic dimension necessitates

establishing a quantitative assessment system for

cross-cultural semiotic transduction. By adopting the

linguistic concept of "semantic density," an

operational "Transduction Efficiency Index" could be

developed to measure the preservation and

reconstruction rates of source cultural connotations

through localized symbols in short-video adaptations.

This index might quantify semantic attrition or value-

added coefficients of specific cultural imageries

during cross-media reproduction. Such an integrative

approach, coupling temporal communication

dynamics with semiotic transduction efficacy, not

only transcends the structural constraints of static

evaluation models but also captures the negotiated

nature of cultural discount through digital user

participation, thereby advancing cross-cultural

communication theory with an ecologically valid

analytical framework.

6.2 The Technical Dimension:

Cracking the "Cultural Fit

Paradox" of Algorithmic Power

The technical dimension of addressing the "Cultural

Fit Paradox" of algorithmic power necessitates a

paradigm shift that transcends instrumental

rationality, recognizing platforms' dual potential to

amplify cultural compartmentalization or foster

cross-cultural dialogue. A viable pathway lies in

embedding culturally recursive architectures into

algorithmic systems through interdisciplinary

collaboration. This involves integrating

anthropological insights into algorithm design via

cultural sensitivity training frameworks, wherein a

"cultural feature recognition module" could be co-

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developed with anthropologists. Such a module might

deploy a dynamic database of cultural symbols within

recommendation engines, enabling context-aware

interventions — for instance, triggering lightweight,

non-intrusive cultural annotations (e.g., 3-second

floating layers explaining Peking Opera's symbolic

gestures) when users encounter high-context cultural

content, thereby bridging comprehension gaps

without disrupting engagement. Concurrently,

mitigating algorithmic bias demands human-

computer collaborative review mechanisms that

institutionalize localized expertise. Drawing lessons

from Southeast Asian streaming platforms that

improved religious symbol recognition accuracy by

involving cultural consultants in algorithmic training

and data annotation, such models could be scaled into

regionalized distribution systems. By systematically

injecting localized hermeneutic knowledge, through

iterative feedback loops between human cultural

interpreters and machine learning pipelines,

algorithms gain the capacity to discern culturally

nuanced meanings while retaining scalability. This

hybrid approach, blending symbolic database-driven

adaptability with human-in-the-loop

contextualization, repositions algorithmic power not

as a neutral arbiter but as a negotiated sociotechnical

infrastructure, where cultural fit is dynamically

calibrated through both computational precision and

ethnographic fidelity, ultimately transforming

platforms into spaces of intercultural negotiation

rather than passive amplification of pre-existing

biases.

6.3 Practical Dimension: Architecting

Transcultural Co-Creation

Infrastructures

The operationalization of glocalization necessitates

transcending tokenistic localization practices to

construct institutionalized infrastructures for

intercultural semiotic negotiation. Grounded in the

tri-dimensional "technology-culture-institution"

synergy framework, this study advances a culturally

recursive copyright paradigm that reconfigures

platform affordances as catalytic interfaces for

participatory value co-creation. At its core lies the

dialectical integration of algorithmic sovereignty

with decentralized cultural hermeneutics—a synthesis

exemplified by emerging transnational experiments

in digital rights governance. Indonesia's blockchain-

enabled folklore remix ecosystems demonstrate how

dynamic value attribution algorithms can transform

user adaptations into measurable cross-cultural

capital, while Kenya's AI-mediated IP arbitration

protocols reveal the criticality of embedding

communal ownership logic into digital licensing

architectures. Concurrently, Southeast Asian

participatory governance models illustrate how

algorithmic veto rights empower communities to

regulate symbolic appropriation, effectively

countering platform imperialism through techno-

cultural counterflows. These geographically

dispersed yet theoretically convergent initiatives

collectively reconceptualize microcopy-right not as

mere incentive structures but as living infrastructures

for intercultural semiosis, where blockchain's

transactional precision, AI's contextual sensitivity,

and decentralized autonomous organizations' (DAOs)

ethical accountability jointly actualize the tripartite

model's "dynamic symbol transduction" principle.

The Quechua remix renaissance in Latin America and

Vietnam's áo dài digital heritage preservation further

substantiates this paradigm's efficacy. By

institutionalizing hybrid analog-digital ownership

frameworks attuned to localized cultural ontologies,

such initiatives achieve dual objectives: stimulating

grassroots participation through culturally legible

value recognition systems while systematically

reducing cultural discount rates via algorithmically

mediated semantic resonance. This evolutionary leap

from platform-centric localization to ecosystemic co-

creation epitomizes the study's central thesis — that

sustainable glocalization emerges not from

technological scale alone but from recursive feedback

loops between algorithmic architectures, cultural

transduction praxis, and institutional innovation.

6.4 Methodological Innovation: Ethical

Contextualization in

Cross-Cultural Epistemology

The methodological transition toward contextual

immersion inherently demands the

reconceptualization of research ethics as constitutive

rather than ancillary to knowledge production. This

paradigm shift confronts a fundamental

epistemological tension: the imperative to capture

cultural discounting's embodied dynamism through

multimodal sensing technologies (biosensor arrays,

algorithmic ethnography) simultaneously risks

reifying the very power asymmetries it seeks to

illuminate, particularly when neurophysiological data

extraction interfaces with postcolonial subjects or

algorithmic black boxes mediate cultural narratives.

To resolve this aporia, the proposed methodology

embeds intercultural data justice frameworks within

its technical architecture. Culturally recursive consent

protocols replace static informed consent forms,

employing adaptive interfaces that visually

contextualize biometric data flows using localized

semiotic systems (e.g., animating pupillary tracking

explanations through Vietnamese water puppet

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metaphors). Cultural data stewardship manifests

through decentralized data governance models that

allow Indigenous communities to codify cultural

protocols into access rules. Algorithmic transparency

is reconstituted as a negotiated revelation—platforms

provide "cultural impact statements" detailing

recommendation logic's sociocultural premises,

enabling bias auditing while respecting proprietary

boundaries. The longitudinal creator study

exemplifies this ethical-technical symbiosis. AI-

driven differential privacy mechanisms dynamically

anonymize datasets, scrubbing biometric identifiers

when detecting sacred cultural motifs in screen-

capture heatmaps. Meanwhile, decentralized

autonomous review boards—comprising local ethicists

and creators— continuously assess research impacts

through deliberative digital forums. This

operationalization of UNESCO's "ethical by design"

principles transforms methodology into self-reflexive

praxis, where epistemic rigor emerges from recursive

dialogues between biosensor quantification,

algorithmic pattern detection, and community

hermeneutics. Ultimately, such ethical

contextualization transcends procedural compliance

to enact epistemic justice. By constituting cultural

discount research as co-created techno-cultural

performance rather than extractive observation, it

bridges positivist construct validity with

constructivist-situated knowing—a synthesis vital for

deconstructing the neocolonial legacies haunting

cross-cultural communication scholarship.

7 CONCLUSIONS

This study systematically addresses the tripartite

theoretical challenges outlined in the Introduction

through empirical validation of the "semiotic

transduction–traffic allocation–collective remixing"

model. First, regarding the reconfiguration of the

"cultural distance – value depreciation" causality,

algorithmic visibility, and participatory reproduction

function as interdependent mediators: Algorithmic

visibility governs traffic allocation through platform

hierarchies (e.g., TikTok's prioritization of dance

challenges over traditional opera content), while

participatory reproduction enables collective

remixing that deconstructs static cultural encoding

(e.g., the transformation of One Cut Plum into an

"emotional lingua franca" via user-generated speed-

editing techniques). This dual mediation dismantles

Hofstede's dimensional determinism by

demonstrating how digital affordances render cultural

distance dynamically negotiable rather than

structurally fixed.

Second, the identified dialectical tensions

between discount mitigation and amplification

originate from the decoupling of technological logic

from cultural transduction praxis. While user-driven

symbolic reinvention (e.g., Genshin Impact players

reconstructing traditional motifs through 3D

modeling) exemplifies affordance-enabled value

creation, algorithmic symbolic annihilation exposes

latent cultural imperialism embedded in platform

architectures. These contradictions reshape power

geometries by recentering agencies within hybrid

human-algorithmic networks, where platform

communication no longer adheres to core-periphery

diffusion models but emerges through contested

visibility regimes.

Third, the transcendence of the scale-authenticity

zero-sum game is achieved through glocalization

synergy mechanisms empirically validated in Section

4. Regional algorithmic sovereignty (e.g., Blim's

localized recommendation systems countering

Netflix's hegemony) and micro copyright incentives

(e.g., Peru's digital rights trading platform)

collectively establish an ecosystemic resonance

framework. This tri-dimensional "technology-

culture-institution" model proves that cultural fidelity

need not be sacrificed for technological scalability

when localization is reconceptualized as

multistakeholder negotiation — a process where AI-

driven semiotic transduction mechanisms and

crowdsourced semantic reconstruction co-evolve

through decentralized digital governance.

These findings necessitate dual paradigm shifts in

research and practice. Future studies should extend

the proposed dynamic tracking model to quantify how

specific algorithmic parameters (e.g., TikTok's

recommendation weights for participatory content)

modulate cultural discount trajectories. Practitioners

must confront the ethical imperative of embedding

intercultural hermeneutics into platform

architectures, not as post hoc localization patches but

as foundational design principles. Only through such

techno-cultural synthesis can global communication

ecosystems achieve the resilience demanded by our

hypermediated era.

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