You can now own 'original' digital art thanks to blockchain technology

This work of art, which exists digitally and which was created by 'artificial intelligence', sold for $14,349.75:

 

 

I'm not saying it's good art, and I'm not saying that the price is justified. And I know for a fact that AI was used to create art decades ago. But I do believe that the blockchain has more potential than just being a conduit for digital currencies. Already, some online games are using some kind of blockchain to exchange items. One game, Cryptokitties, is actually based on Ethereum.

 

So what's the big deal, right? Well, I think this is a good opportunity to get photographers to acknowledge the difference between centralised platforms and decentralised platforms, and why they matter.

 

Centralised platforms rely on one entity to keep the platform active. The best examples are Flickr and Instagram. Almost all of us have an account with one or the other. They are reliable and responsive and secure. They maintain their own servers and data is stored centrally.

 

Decentralised platforms are significantly different. They rely on multiple nodes for the network to perform, and they are constructed from blocks of data which are tied to each other - blockchains. Blockchains are open, permissionless, distributed ledgers that operate by distributing data between nodes. The nodes operate on a consensus basis, which means that they must all agree on changes to the blockchain before those changes are applied. They are not necessarily responsive, depending on how popular they are, and what their function is. But they are maximally secure, to the point where forgotten passwords entail permanent loss of access to data. There is no option to recover passwords or keys. But the good news is that nobody can 'deplatform' you, or remove your data from the chain.

 

Like conventional platforms, blockchains are reliable methods of notarising data. When you post an image to Flickr, it is notarised - it may be manipulated, or it may be just a scan of a drawing, but there is almost no doubt as to when it was uploaded.

 

Blockchain technology offers the same kind of service, but the decentralised and permissionless nature, as well as other features which I won't get into here, mean that it will be relevant to photography in some way. This could include ownership, notarisation, rights management, and perhaps, one day, authentication (the toughest problem in data creation).

 

Consider what you can do on a blockchain. Using a blockchain explorer, you can see what data exists at a given address. You can't necessarily identify an individual, unless you know who owns what address. But you can see time stamps, balances, and so on. For the image I linked to above, you can click on 'view tx' to see the transaction data:

 

 

Too much information? Yes, but that is what is unique about blockchains, for the most part.

 

You will probably be wondering what the big deal is. After all, you can download this art for free, just like you can download a copy of the Mona Lisa for free. If you're sneaky you can probably upload it to a different blockchain and pretend that it's yours.

 

But, the fact remains that there is only one 'original' (for lack of a better term). Fraud is not so simple, as you do have to register with such platforms. If you are accused of fraud, the platform is as responsible to the law as conventional platforms are. If there is any doubt as to which version of an image was created first, you can always check the block explorer. Just like on Flickr, the time stamp never lies.

 

Having a basic understanding of what blockchains are used for now will definitely be helpful for the future. Because it won't be too long before blockchains become as ubiquitous as email, file sharing, and social media. Maybe one day we will see a platform similar to Instagram, but based on a blockchain. We are still in early days. But it cannot hurt to be aware of this relatively new technology, even if you decide that it's not for you.

 

I'm not a blockchain guru by any means. But I do want to see where this discussion goes, if there is one to be had.

The intelligence of whomever paid $14349 is artificial.

So there’s your perfect match.

I'd never heard of Blockchain (I'm old but I try to keep up :) ). Thanks for posting this! I can imagine wide implications of this trend for internet, e-mail and apps.Just focusing on photography, I'm not sure what the impact might be. I'm pretty sure that most photographers only post a low res image to their websites. Possibly watermarked. As a 'storefront' image, encryption wouldn't work. But I can imagine photographers sharing hi-res images to potential clients via Blockchain..;

 

Or have I completely misunderstood?

 

Mike

 

 

 

This work of art, which exists digitally and which was created by 'artificial intelligence', sold for $14,349.75:

 

https://superrare.co/artwork/ai-generated-nude-portrait-1-1

 

I'm not saying it's good art, and I'm not saying that the price is justified. And I know for a fact that AI was used to create art decades ago. But I do believe that the blockchain has more potential than just being a conduit for digital currencies. Already, some online games are using some kind of blockchain to exchange items. One game, Cryptokitties, is actually based on Ethereum.

 

So what's the big deal, right? (Moderators: stay with me here!) Well, I think this is a good opportunity to get photographers to acknowledge the difference between centralised platforms and decentralised platforms, and why they matter.

 

Centralised platforms rely on one entity to keep the platform active. The best examples are Flickr and Instagram. Almost all of us have an account with one or the other. They are reliable and responsive and secure. They maintain their own servers and data is stored centrally.

 

Decentralised platforms are significantly different. They rely on multiple nodes for the network to perform, and they are constructed from blocks of data which are tied to each other - blockchains. Blockchains are open, permissionless, distributed ledgers that operate by distributing data between nodes. The nodes operate on a consensus basis, which means that they must all agree on changes to the blockchain before those changes are applied. They are not necessarily responsive, depending on how popular they are, and what their function is. But they are maximally secure, to the point where forgotten passwords entail permanent loss of access to data. There is no option to recover passwords or keys. But the good news is that nobody can 'deplatform' you, or remove your data from the chain.

 

Like conventional platforms, blockchains are reliable methods of notarising data. When you post an image to Flickr, it is notarised - it may be manipulated, or it may be just a scan of a drawing, but there is almost no doubt as to when it was uploaded.

 

Blockchain technology offers the same kind of service, but the decentralised and permissionless nature, as well as other features which I won't get into here, mean that it will be relevant to photography in some way. This could include ownership, notarisation, rights management, and perhaps, one day, authentication (the toughest problem in data creation).

 

Consider what you can do on a blockchain. Using a blockchain explorer, you can see what data exists at a given address. You can't necessarily identify an individual, unless you know who owns what address. But you can see time stamps, balances, and so on. For the image I linked to above, you can click on 'view tx' to see the transaction data:

 

https://etherscan.io/tx/0x45f62fe5031446e97f13e3884011ca2361c016303ed4451f50180d4e721406f8

 

Too much information? Yes, but that is what is unique about blockchains, for the most part.

 

You will probably be wondering what the big deal is. After all, you can download this art for free, just like you can download a copy of the Mona Lisa for free. If you're sneaky you can probably upload it to a different blockchain and pretend that it's yours.

 

But, the fact remains that there is only one 'original' (for lack of a better term). Fraud is not so simple, as you do have to register with such platforms. If you are accused of fraud, the platform is as responsible to the law as conventional platforms are. If there is any doubt as to which version of an image was created first, you can always check the block explorer. Just like on Flickr, the time stamp never lies.

 

Having a basic understanding of what blockchains are used for now will definitely be helpful for the future. Because it won't be too long before blockchains become as ubiquitous as email, file sharing, and social media. Maybe one day we will see a platform similar to Instagram, but based on a blockchain. We are still in early days. But it cannot hurt to be aware of this relatively new technology, even if you decide that it's not for you.

 

I'm not a blockchain guru by any means. But I do want to see where this discussion goes, if there is one to be had.

$14349.75 Really! I mean think of how many cameras he could have added to his arsenal with that kind of cash ... or bitcoin. Such a dope.

 

Anyway, the intelligence involved in art purchases is as often in the investment potential as in current opinions of it.

Jeez - here is some mark 1 digital art created by an artificial stupidity. You can have it for free.

 

Where is the art?

Yaaaaaawn.

I'd never heard of Blockchain (I'm old but I try to keep up :) ). Thanks for posting this! I can imagine wide implications of this trend for internet, e-mail and apps.Just focusing on photography, I'm not sure what the impact might be. I'm pretty sure that most photographers only post a low res image to their websites. Possibly watermarked. As a 'storefront' image, encryption wouldn't work. But I can imagine photographers sharing hi-res images to potential clients via Blockchain..;

 

Or have I completely misunderstood?

 

Mike

 

You've probably heard of Bitcoin. It relies on blockchain technology.

Send me $15,000 and as soon as the check clears I will send you a work of art. Thanks

I’ll do it for $15,095.99.

You get what you pay for.

 

 

;)

$15,100 and I will throw in an official certificate of authenticity.

Hmm... send me only $952

and I'll send you a photo of

a banana duct taped to my

treehouse wall...

http://bayouline.com/o2.gif

Boy the market is tightening up......

$15 and you make your own print.

When I saw that described as art, I choked.

The linked AI art made me think of GOYA, though it's more abstract. Now, to be fair, there are many people who can't even look at a Goya and are nauseated by his paintings. There are a fair amount of my favorite artists who turn off a lot of people for one reason or another. I think that just comes with the territory of good art. A lot of really good art doesn't have universal appeal. Distortion and strong color can be a turnoff. Not liking something is no reason, at least in my mind, for me not to describe it as art. What's the difference between non-art and art I don't like? Age old question. Don't expect an answer ... and don't have one that I could condense down into a brief post.

Expression of mind.

I do not know what AI algorithm was used to create this item. The one of the way to create AI product is to use a statistical analysis of the well known and appreciated the image elements, that means we may be looking at no more than the bell curve based collage.

Cheers.

Garbage in

Garbage out

Garbage in

Garbage out

Well ya got me.

1 (#5) out of 25 ain’t bad.

The rest have yet to be properly recycled......

It wasn't about the results, though I'm sure there are other examples on other websites that might meet with approval. Those results are others'. For me, it's about the idea and stimulating my own imagination. It's about possibilities I can see if I keep an open mind. But, I'm not so proper, so I have to be taken it with a grain of salt, but a big grain ... let's say, kosher salt.

:confused:

I think the beer Canimals (#20) represents ecological principals of recycling the best. The artist could participate in the recycling of both the container and the contained.