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In the spirit of today’s edition, here’s a prelude from my friend Chad Jippity:

Welcome to the latest edition of Mint or Skip. In this issue, we address the growing anti-AI sentiment pervading society, as debates intensify over the role of artificial intelligence in art creation and its potential implications for human creativity and employment.

thx Chad

Links for the Top 25 drops are HERE.

The most hated NFT drop in a while

Babes by Petra

• Mint Date: June 11

• Supply: 333 Open Editions

• Price: Free (+ 0.008 ETH mint fee)

• Chain: Ethereum (Base)

• Link

Let’s take a stroll through the vitriolic hellscape of artists vs AI art.

It’s been a hot topic since OpenAI released DALL-E 2 in 2022, with a lot of artists asking for stricter copyright laws around these models and roasting the life out of anyone claiming to be an AI artist.

The events leading up to Babes is a prime example of this. This upcoming collection is by Petra, an AI artist known for her ethereal portraits and anime-inspired work.

And on May 31st Petra posted art vs artist, a tweet showing one of her works alongside a real picture of herself. It blew up with 23M views:

But most of this engagement came from other artists (and random OnlyFans girls… classic Twitter) roasting her in the comments:

And in quote-retweets:

Some went on to create derivatives and TikToks showing how “real art” is made, ultimately proving how the AI art they proclaim to hate can serve as real inspiration…

During all this, Babes drops their announcement — a collection of 333 PFP-style pieces showcasing the very same glitzy anime AI art that started all the drama in the first place.

Each piece is a free (plus 0.008 ETH mint fee) open edition purchasable through packs. Those who collect the most open editions will get unique 1/1s.

Separately, the collection’s rollout includes daily free open editions (which have been getting thousands of mints so far) and four 1/1 auctions (fetching ~1.5 ETH on average from top collectors and breaking the artist’s ATH record sales).

Bottom Line

idk how to fix AI art models to make everyone happy, but I like Petra's chibi Bratz-fueled characters.

✨Added to Top 25 ✨

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

The Altar of Bonnō by Emi Kusano

Emi Kusano brings you The Altar of Bonnō, AI art for japanophiles.

This post-photographic collection explores the culture of overconsumption through a retro lens, with colorful pieces depicting Buddhists sitting in 90’s-styled rooms that would make hoarders proud.

It’s a return to the style that got the artist a bunch of sellouts last year. Plus, it’s affordable.

✨ Added to Top 25 ✨