I used to be honored to be invited as a keynote speaker on the NFT 2023 Seoul convention, which befell on September 1, 2023, on the COEX Conference Middle in Seoul, South Korea. The convention was an enormous success, attracting many attendees from around the globe who had been within the newest developments and tendencies within the non-fungible tokens house.
The speech was titled “The Journey of NFTs within the Age of AI and Web3”. In it, I shared my insights on how NFTs have developed and what their future holds, how synthetic intelligence (AI) is creating new prospects and challenges for NFTs, and the way Web3 is rising as a brand new model of the web that’s extra decentralized, open, and user-centric.
On this article, I’ll summarize a few of my speech’s key factors and supply examples of NFT initiatives that illustrate them. I hope you’ll find them informative and provoking.
What Are NFTs?
One of many matters that I coated in my speech was the essential idea and definition of NFTs. NFTs are non-fungible tokens, which implies that they’re distinctive and irreplaceable. Not like fungible tokens, equivalent to cryptocurrencies, that may be exchanged for each other, NFTs have their very own particular person traits and worth. They’re principally digital gadgets, equivalent to artworks, music, movies, video games, collectibles, and even digital land, that customers can purchase and promote on-line utilizing blockchain know-how.
Blockchain know-how is the spine of NFTs, offering a safe and clear method of verifying their authenticity, shortage, and possession. Blockchain is a distributed ledger system that data transactions in a community of computer systems with out the necessity for a government. Every transaction is verified by the community and added to a sequence of blocks that can’t be altered or tampered with. This ensures that NFTs are authentic, uncommon, and belong to their rightful homeowners.
The NFT market has been booming in recent times, particularly in 2021, when it reached new heights of recognition and profitability. In keeping with knowledge from NonFungible.com, the overall gross sales quantity of NFTs in 2021 was over $12 billion, which is greater than 20 occasions greater than the earlier 12 months. The common worth of an NFT additionally elevated considerably, from $142 in 2020 to $3,700 in 2021.
A few of the extra widespread and best-selling NFT collections out there as of final week had been:
- Bored Ape Yacht Membership: 7-Day Gross sales Quantity: $52.2 million
- The Sandbox: 7-Day Gross sales Quantity: $33.1 million
- CryptoPunks: 7-Day Gross sales Quantity: $17.5 million
- Artwork Blocks: 7-Day Gross sales Quantity: $13.2 million
- Decentraland: 7-Day Gross sales Quantity: $6.6 million
These collections characteristic several types of digital belongings, equivalent to pixelated characters, generative artwork, digital worlds, and extra. They’ve attracted 1000’s of consumers and sellers from around the globe, who’re prepared to pay tens of millions of {dollars} for a number of the rarest and most coveted items. Simply to place some figures as an example these NFTs. A Bored Ape Yacht Membership NFT bought for $24.4 million at Sotheby’s public sale home in September 2021.
A CryptoPunk NFT bought for $11.8 million at Christie’s public sale home in Might 2021. An Artwork Blocks NFT bought for $5.4 million on the OpenSea platform in August 2021.
How is AI Reworking NFTs?
One other subject I coated in my speech was the influence and potential of synthetic intelligence on NFTs. I defined how AI is reworking NFTs by creating new prospects for producing distinctive digital belongings that may enchantment to completely different tastes and preferences. I additionally defined how AI can combine dynamic experiences into NFTs, making them extra interactive and adaptive.
One of many ways in which AI is creating new prospects for NFTs is by enabling customers to mechanically create artworks utilizing numerous algorithms and fashions. Which means customers don’t must have any inventive expertise or expertise to create their very own NFTs. They will merely use AI instruments and platforms that may generate pictures primarily based on their inputs, equivalent to key phrases, kinds, colours, and extra. A few of the examples of AI-generated NFTs embody:
- Artbreeder is a platform that permits customers to create and breed pictures utilizing neural networks. Customers can select from completely different classes, equivalent to portraits, landscapes, animals, and summary artwork, after which alter numerous parameters, equivalent to genes, mutations, and mixtures, to create distinctive pictures. Customers may mix completely different pictures to create hybrids and variations.
- GANksy is a set of avenue artwork created by a generative adversarial community (GAN) impressed by Banksy. A GAN is an AI mannequin consisting of two competing networks: a generator that creates faux pictures and a discriminator that tries to differentiate them from actual ones. The generator learns from the suggestions of the discriminator and improves over time. GANksy is a GAN that was educated on a whole lot of Banksy artworks after which generated its personal authentic items.
- Alethea AI is a platform that allows customers to create and commerce clever NFTs that may converse, work together, and study. Customers can add their very own pictures or select from a gallery of pre-made avatars after which use a text-to-speech engine to offer them a voice. Customers may customise the persona, temper, and emotion of their NFTs and train them new expertise and information.
One other method that AI is reworking NFTs is by integrating dynamic experiences into them due to their self-learning capabilities. Which means NFTs can change over time primarily based on exterior components, equivalent to knowledge, occasions, consumer actions, and extra. This makes them extra dynamic in comparison with extra conventional NFTs that always take the type of a picture or audio file.
What’s Web3 and How Does It Improve the NFT Ecosystem?
The ultimate subject that I coated in my speech was Web3 and the way it enhances the NFT ecosystem. Web3 is a brand new model of the web that goals to offer customers extra management over their knowledge and on-line interactions. Web3 is constructed on blockchain know-how and consists of options equivalent to cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Identification is without doubt one of the key options of Web3 that permits customers to handle their on-line identities in a safer and environment friendly method with out counting on a government. Web3 identification options allow customers to create and use digital wallets on the blockchain that retailer their private data, equivalent to title, e mail, cellphone quantity, handle, and extra.
Customers can then use these wallets to entry numerous Web3 purposes and companies, equivalent to marketplaces, social networks, video games, and extra. Customers may select what data they wish to share with every utility or service and revoke entry at any time. A few of the examples of Web3 identification options:
- MetaMask is a browser extension that permits customers to entry Ethereum-based purposes. MetaMask acts as a bridge between the consumer’s browser and the Ethereum community, enabling them to ship and obtain transactions, work together with good contracts, and handle their Ethereum accounts.
- Civic is a platform that gives identification verification companies utilizing blockchain. Civic permits customers to confirm their identification as soon as after which use it throughout a number of platforms with out going by way of the identical course of once more. Civic additionally protects customers’ privateness through the use of zero-knowledge proofs, that are cryptographic strategies that permit customers to show one thing with out revealing any particulars.
- ENS (Ethereum Identify Service) is a protocol that permits customers to register human-readable names for his or her Ethereum addresses. ENS makes it simpler for customers to ship and obtain transactions, as they don’t have to cope with lengthy and complicated alphanumeric strings. ENS additionally permits customers to connect different data to their names, equivalent to web sites, social media profiles, and NFTs.
NFTs are one other key characteristic of Web3 that enhances the ecosystem by providing a decentralized web the place customers are usually not simply customers however energetic members. They’re distinctive blockchain tokens that permit customers to transparently present proof of possession for issues equivalent to digital artwork, music, knowledge, in-game belongings, private data, and extra. NFTs additionally allow customers to create, commerce, gather, and showcase their digital belongings on numerous Web3 platforms and companies.
The Backside Line
I wrapped up my speech by stressing the significance and potential of the fusion of AI and NFTs within the Web3 period, arguing that the convergence of AI and NFTs will permit us to create and personal distinctive digital belongings that may work together with one another and with the surroundings in dynamic and clever methods.
I additionally argued that Web3 will supply us a extra democratic and decentralized web the place we will have extra freedom and management over our on-line identities and experiences.
“Web3 is predicated on the concept of decentralization, which implies that no single entity or authority can management or censor the community. This aligns completely with the core values of NFTs, that are primarily based on the concept of possession, which implies that we will show and switch our rights to our digital belongings. The fusion of AI and NFTs inside the context of Web3 opens up a brand new horizon for innovation and creativity, the place we will discover limitless prospects and have higher company over our digital belongings.”
Thanks to the viewers for his or her consideration and to the organizers of NFT 2023 Seoul. Discover me on X/Twitter at @anndylian.
