NEW YORK, Dec 24: The next great artistic masterpiece might be created by a machine rather than a human: An AI design program named Botto has sold digital artworks for millions and could revolutionize the creative industry.

Since its inception in 2021, Botto has generated over 150 artworks across various mediums, collectively earning more than $5 million at auction, according to CNBC.

One of Botto’s creators, German artist Mario Klingemann, expressed his belief in the future of AI in art, stating online, “The recent advancements in artificial intelligence, deep learning, and data analysis make me confident that in the near future machine artists will be able to create more interesting work than humans.”

Co-creator Simon Hudson outlined two main goals for Botto. "It’s first to become recognized as an artist, and I think second is to become a successful artist,” he told CNBC, adding that success could encompass significant commercial, financial, cultural, and spiritual impact.

Like other AI image programs, such as DALL-E, Botto generates works based on prompts. However, according to Hudson, Botto’s process is unique. Initially, it received very broad instructions, combining random words, phrases, and symbols to create images. "It started by combining random words, phrases, and symbols … to produce images," Hudson explained.

Botto produces 70,000 randomized works weekly, with 350 of them presented to a “collective” of 5,000 people in a “decentralized autonomous organization.” This group votes on which image to sell. Hudson noted, “With Botto, it strips away this myth of the lone genius artist and shows how artwork is really a collective … meaning-making process.” He added that as AI-generated content floods the market, this collective process will become even more significant.

Members of the public can also participate in voting for works to be auctioned. Hudson also shared that Botto’s public recognition has been a gradual journey. In the early stages, two works listed between $13,000 and $15,000 did not sell at auction. However, those same pieces went for $276,000 in October.

“Certainly, Botto right now is a collaboration between machine and crowd,” Hudson said. “The human hands are certainly there, but the setup is such that Botto has maintained the central role of authorship.”