Beeple Challenges AI As Solution To Digital Collectibles Market Slump

Beeple, the artist behind the $69 million $NFT sale which propelled the popularity of NFTs into the mainstream media, has once again made it to the headlines with his hot-take on the collaboration of AI and NFTs.

Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that Michael Winkelmann, famously known as Beeple, said that the intersection of artificial intelligence and NFTs does not offer a simple solution to the decline in the digital collectibles market.

The rise of generative AI and its application in digital art has been the talk of the town in recent months. In fact, Fashion giant Gucci announced its collaboration with auction house Christie’s on a collection of $NFT artworks called ‘Future frequencies: Explorations in generative art and fashion’. This marked Gucci’s first foray into generative AI projects, as they aim to explore the intersection of technology and fashion. According to the announcement, digital artists have been commissioned to create NFTs, incorporating Gucci’s intellectual property and showcasing the potential of new design technologies in shaping the future of the industry.

Despite the growing admiration of AI in art, Beeple remarked:

AI isn’t some sort of quick fix to give value to NFTs. This is a tool that everybody now has. If it is something that is easy for you to do with AI and make, it probably won’t have lasting value because anybody could do that. You really still need to have something that is a truly new, innovative idea.

Bloomberg’s post noted that in the past 15 months, the Bitwise Blue-Chip $NFT Collections Index has experienced a significant decline, dropping by more than 80% from its previous peak. Moreover, data from CoinMarketCap suggests that during the first quarter of 2023, $NFT trading volume witnessed a notable surge followed by a subsequent decline.