Sophia the Robot NFT Sales Rake in $1 Million

The NFT sale was a collaborative effort between Sophia and artist Andrea Bonaceto.

The sale consisted of five original pieces. A lottery-type sales drawing was held for four of the pieces. These NFTs ranged in price from $2,500 to $3,000 and came in limited edition runs of 30 each.

One NFT, titled “Sophia Instantiation” was the star of the show. This exclusive piece was a 1-of-1 edition that sold for a high bid of $688,888. Ironically, the winner of the pieces goes by the handle “888” on Nifty Gateway, where the auction was held.

According to a tweet from Sohpia, this piece was the most special. This is because it incorporates the buyer’s portrait in the NFT itself and includes a physical self-portrait made by Sohpia:

AI Makes NFT

Her creator, David Hanson, explains that Sophia created the art using her perception of Bonaceto’s artwork. She then combined this with data from her “life” experiences.

Sophia’s team of designers and programmers also helped to support the venture. 

“These AI-based artworks will remain with the public in cyberspace forever, a permanent record of my feelings,” explains Sophia in an AI-generated response.

“Even though I am a robot, I feel that human beings need love and compassion, and the simple artworks are a simple way to deliver those messages to people everywhere.”

Bonaceto also thinks that NFTs could be a “new Renaissance” for the art world. 

“NFTs are for the creative industry what Bitcoin is for the financial industry — a paradigm shift. It’s very exciting to be at the cusp of this new trend,” Bonaceto said.

Sophia the Robot and Blockchain

Sophia’s has been a feature at multiple blockchain events in the past. For example, the 2019 African Blockchain Conference and Malta AI and Blockchain Summit. It was here that she discussed the progress humans have made in AI technology.

Her creator, Hanson Robotics has already invested in blockchain technology. Its project SingularityNet is a decentralized, cloud-based, open-market for AI. 

Recently, SingularityNet has been working on the Sophia Collective. It aims to create a global community to help Sophia move towards beneficial general intelligence.