In an interesting development for artificial intelligence in the art world, Botto, an autonomous AI artist, has managed to sell works for $351,600 at a recent Sotheby’s auction. The AI system, which operates without direct human input for image creation, has accumulated more than $4 million in art sales since beginning its artistic journey in 2021.
The AI Artist’s MO
Botto, developed by German artist Mario Klingemann and software collective ElevenYellow, functions through a unique system of creation and curation. While the AI generates images independently based on its own algorithmic decisions, a community of 15,000 members known as BottoDao plays a crucial role in selecting which pieces should be minted as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) each week. This selection process influences the AI’s artistic development and future creations.
The autonomous artist has progressed through various artistic phases in its three-year career, including periods known as Genesis, Interstice, and Temporal Echoes. The recent Sotheby’s exhibition, titled “Exorbitant Stage: Botto, a Decentralized AI Artist,” featured six NFT lots that exceeded expected sale prices.
NFTs and AI Art Ownership
The use of NFTs has become particularly significant in Botto’s work due to current copyright limitations surrounding AI-generated art. While AI creations cannot be copyrighted, NFTs provide buyers with blockchain-based proof of ownership for original artworks. This technology enables collectors to verify the authenticity of their purchases in the digital art space.
Simon Hudson, Botto operator and co-lead, expressed the significance of the exhibition, stating that “Three years is both a long time and almost no time at all in the scale of art history and our computational future.”
Michael Bouhanna, Sotheby’s Head of Digital Art, highlighted the exhibition’s importance in the evolution of artistic creation. He noted that the show demonstrates AI’s transformative potential in art while challenging traditional concepts of artistic authorship through its collective input system.
Artistic Identity
One notable aspect of Botto’s work is the apparent randomness in its artistic output. Unlike human artists who typically develop recognizable styles across different periods, Botto’s creations appear to lack a consistent artistic voice, with pieces looking as if they were created by different entities.
The success of Botto comes at an interesting time for the NFT art market, which experienced a significant downturn after the 2022 bubble. While AI artists like Botto may bring renewed attention to the NFT space, questions remain about the long-term sustainability of demand for machine-created artwork and whether current interest stems primarily from the novelty of AI-generated art.
(Image by Botto)
