Botto’s $351,600 Question: Is Autonomous AI Art the Real Deal?

Can a machine really be an “artist,” or are we just paying for the novelty of robot-made “art”?

Botto, an autonomous AI artist, has shaken the art world by selling $351,600 worth of NFTs at Sotheby’s, raising questions about creativity, ownership, and the future of art itself.

Developed by Mario Klingemann and ElevenYellow, Botto operates with no human prompts; it autonomously generates thousands of digital works, while a community of 15,000 users (BottoDAO) curates which pieces are minted as NFTs. This setup raises a provocative question: does creative agency shift when the artist is a machine with a crowd-sourced “taste”?

Since AI-generated art lacks copyright protection, the NFT blockchain acts as proof of originality in an otherwise duplicable format.

• BottoDAO decides which images to mint, shaping Botto's evolving style.
• Botto’s “Exorbitant Stage” NFTs exceeded expectations, suggesting demand for autonomous AI art.
• Sotheby’s sees Botto as marking a milestone in human-machine collaborative art.

If robots can create without us, what does that mean for our understanding of creativity? Should we embrace or resist this shift in authorship? Let’s discuss in the comments.

Read the full article on Creative Bloq.

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