Botto: The Decentralized AI Artist

Introduction

The field of generative AI has rapidly evolved in recent years and is already being used for a variety of different purposes. The intersection of generative AI and NFTs is a natural one — both are cutting-edge technologies that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

One of the most intriguing applications is in the realm of art. With the ability to create original pieces that are indistinguishable from those produced by human artists, generative AI is opening up new possibilities for creativity. Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are just two examples of generative AI imaging models today.

Verifiable authenticity is an extremely powerful use case in the art world, where fakes are commonplace. The decentralized and secure nature of the blockchain makes it a natural fit for managing ownership and transactions. Even more importantly, NFTs enable new business models for generative AI in art by creating a layer of scarcity on top of it.

Besides collecting and acquiring AI artwork, what if you could own the AI artist instead?

Enter Botto, one of the more fascinating projects in this space. Botto straddles the line between generative AI, art NFTs, and DAO governance.

Botto in a Nutshell

Botto is a decentralized, autonomous generative artist governed by its community via the BOTTO token. It is not human, but the creation of Mario Klingmann (aka Quasimondo), a German artist known for his artwork involving neural networks. Botto was designed based on Mario’s whitepaper in 2018.

Every week, Botto generates 350 unique pieces of art, referred to as “fragments,” and presents them to the community. The community then votes on fragments they like, representing their individual preferences for aesthetically pleasing art. These votes provide feedback to Botto’s generative algorithm, which guides the direction of future rounds of art generation. As such, Botto’s art creation is shaped and directed by the community’s input.

Once a week, the top-voted fragment is minted as a finished artwork and is put up for auction on SuperRare, with all proceeds returned to the community. Botto continues to generate new rounds of art fragments during the auction to ensure the cycle can continue uninterrupted. This approach to generative art creation provides a unique opportunity for community involvement and democratizes the art creation process.

The first art piece was minted on SuperRare on October 22nd, 2021. Botto concluded its Genesis period on October 14th, 2022, with 52 pieces of art minted. Subsequently, it completed its second period (“Fragmentation”), which began on November 15th and lasted for 12 weeks. In February, Botto started its third period, titled “Paradox.”

There are two full-time operators and two full-time developers working on Botto, along with several part-timers working on content, design, art/gallery relatio