Myriad by Anna Ridler is an artwork where AI tulips grow related to BTC price, it's based around tulip mania. She's in my talk on AI and Image at CAS on 1 June. What a coincidence! http://annaridler.com/myriad-tulips
Nice post Kaloh :) I did know about the Dutch tulip mania, known about it for many years in fact. Pretty crazy. We humans haven't really changed, have we! I do see some similarities with crypto and NFTs (and GameStop and a lot of other stocks, especially during the pandemic), but it's not a direct or perfect comparison. For one thing, it was contained within one nation. Crypto, NFTs, and the stock market in general are global systems.
As for the "imaginary" economy concept... aren't all economies imaginary, in a sense? They do not occur in Nature; they are uniquely human constructs, imagined and developed by us. Take money. Yes, it started out as a physical thing (gold, seashells, cacao beans) and today we have a new form of money that is digital. Even "real" money translates into digital numbers in your traditional bank account. A society needs to believe in the value and power of money in order for it to be effectively real. Same with any other type of currency or transaction.
Thanks for the article! I agree that it's hard to compare Tulipmania and the hype around crypto and NFT. But still, I think that these phenomena share a speculative nature.
And just as with tulips, which returned to demand driven by people's normal needs, so the crypto and NFT market is looking for a point of rational demand for the technology. This is what is happening right now in a bull market period, in my opinion.
The tulip mania is somewhat misunderstood. It wasn't nearly as big or as crazy as it is often talked about. A good video on this topic can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1dbtWZFsIk
23+ years ago we heard 'It won't last' 'It'll never be as good' 'It's ephermeral/fugitive/impermanent' 'It's not real'. That was the scorn that greeted digital photography.
False parallels made by someone who doesn't understand something all aren't worth kicking out. Similarly the loudest protests about AI in photography come from those who make it obvious they know nothing about the subject as soon as they open their mouths.
Anyway, I like tulips (they are native to Turkestan/Central Asia) and I like NFTs.
That is right. The entry barrier is high + many of the recent innovations are scary - crypto, missing out on gains, big loses, NFTs, let's not even talk about the impact of AI on careers and job market.
I still find it hard to believe how many people resist change instead of having a curious mindset first.
Myriad by Anna Ridler is an artwork where AI tulips grow related to BTC price, it's based around tulip mania. She's in my talk on AI and Image at CAS on 1 June. What a coincidence! http://annaridler.com/myriad-tulips
Love the Ridler work! Thanks for sharing.
This is a fantastic collection, Geoff! Thanks for sharing!
Will your talk be recorded for those that can't be there?
Nice post Kaloh :) I did know about the Dutch tulip mania, known about it for many years in fact. Pretty crazy. We humans haven't really changed, have we! I do see some similarities with crypto and NFTs (and GameStop and a lot of other stocks, especially during the pandemic), but it's not a direct or perfect comparison. For one thing, it was contained within one nation. Crypto, NFTs, and the stock market in general are global systems.
As for the "imaginary" economy concept... aren't all economies imaginary, in a sense? They do not occur in Nature; they are uniquely human constructs, imagined and developed by us. Take money. Yes, it started out as a physical thing (gold, seashells, cacao beans) and today we have a new form of money that is digital. Even "real" money translates into digital numbers in your traditional bank account. A society needs to believe in the value and power of money in order for it to be effectively real. Same with any other type of currency or transaction.
Great comment, Birgitte!
Totally agree that fiat/money is also an imaginary item, created by humans.
both paintings in your article can currently be seen in https://www.kunsthalle-muc.de/flowers-forever/ - very nice exhibition. can highly recommend, if you are in the Munich area
I used to live in Munich... next time!
Thanks for the article! I agree that it's hard to compare Tulipmania and the hype around crypto and NFT. But still, I think that these phenomena share a speculative nature.
And just as with tulips, which returned to demand driven by people's normal needs, so the crypto and NFT market is looking for a point of rational demand for the technology. This is what is happening right now in a bull market period, in my opinion.
The tulip mania is somewhat misunderstood. It wasn't nearly as big or as crazy as it is often talked about. A good video on this topic can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1dbtWZFsIk
Thanks for sharing Claus! I’ll take a look!
Yes it will. My last talk on AI and Text is recorded here: https://youtu.be/xItrx9SMAwY
23+ years ago we heard 'It won't last' 'It'll never be as good' 'It's ephermeral/fugitive/impermanent' 'It's not real'. That was the scorn that greeted digital photography.
False parallels made by someone who doesn't understand something all aren't worth kicking out. Similarly the loudest protests about AI in photography come from those who make it obvious they know nothing about the subject as soon as they open their mouths.
Anyway, I like tulips (they are native to Turkestan/Central Asia) and I like NFTs.
That is right. The entry barrier is high + many of the recent innovations are scary - crypto, missing out on gains, big loses, NFTs, let's not even talk about the impact of AI on careers and job market.
I still find it hard to believe how many people resist change instead of having a curious mindset first.
Love tulips too, btw.