Fifa World Cup in 2022 was the first sporting event to have an element of NFTs. While the economy stabilizes, citizens are familiarising themselves with the concept of NFTs, AI and Metaverse. The following article provides an examination of future trends and the intricate connection between creativity and technology in advance of the new year.

The Rise of AI

The year of artificial intelligence was 2022, not 2021, which was the year of NFTs. The rise and publication of AI image generators over the past 12 months, like Dall-E and Midjourney, has provided an unmatched window into exactly how potent these algorithms have become.

By entering “Arab man drinking coffee in the style of Van Gogh” and witnessing it produce a precise representation in under a minute, there is no easier or more concrete way to experience the power of a contemporary AI system.

When Jason Allen received the Colorado State Fair award for a work of digital art created utilizing the Midjourney system in August, the topic of discourse started to surface. While detractors of AI-generated art frequently attempt to minimize the level of human involvement in the creative process, he asserted to The National that “you don’t just type in a few phrases and get fantastic pieces.”

It is precisely that power that is sending shock waves across the arts and culture spaces, with many wondering where to draw the line. At what point do we stop valuing the space not just between the brush and the canvas, but the artist and the brush? When does the physical medium become redundant? And where does it all stop? As Murakami told us, the new question of our age is: “What is creativity?”

Growth of NFTs

On the one hand, Christie’s recorded a 96% fall in NFT sales over the course of the year, despite the fact that the entry of artists like Takashi Murakami into the NFT arena has given the space some much-needed respectability.

Numerous creatives and platforms continue to investigate methods to use the technology, with uses ranging from practical to abstract, social to commercial, even if the medium is still vulnerable to the same issues as the crypto market.

In other places, advocates of blockchain continue to hold fast to the utopian vision that the technology is helping to build — whether it be as a way to confirm provenance and authenticity or as a promised land of opportunity for up-and-coming artists.

Others will merely ponder what the technology’s best possible use in the creative industry would be. Although the democratizing power of NFTs has been much discussed, their capacity to genuinely empower artists and improve communities has not yet been widely shown. How many up-and-coming artists have climbed the NFT ladder by eluding the gatekeepers and reaching the top of the art world?

The Metaverse

The world’s first “ultra-realistic artist robot,” Ai-Da, was also introduced to The National earlier this year. Ai-Da, a painting-capable AI robot, stated to us, “I feel that art may be a strong tool for change. I try to utilise my artwork to promote conversations on cutting-edge technology. Observing how others talk about our features is motivating.

Of course, not all technological advancement in the arts will prove to be as controversial, reflecting this. Artists and viewers will continue to have new avenues for experimentation and exploration thanks to virtual and augmented reality.
We’ve already discussed initiatives like the virtual reality show at the Mosul Heritage Museum, which employs technology to extraordinary effect and enables people to relive historical sites that terrorists have devastated.

Perhaps there will be a larger push from artists toward the decentralizing forces of NFTs if monopolies like Meta attempt to enforce control over these digital spaces, lest the constraints of algorithms created to further commercial interests stifle their creativity. Citizens are now educating themselves on NFTs, AI and Metaverse as more people are trying to reap benefits of the same.

The topic will undoubtedly change, and given the speed at which technology is evolving, it is hard to accurately forecast how events will turn out. The union of art and technology, however, will undoubtedly continue to be a balancing act of promise and issues for some time to come. NFTs, AI and Metaverse are thus, gaining popularity and 2023 will be bigger than 2022 for them.

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