AI Usage at a Glance
Timeline
Mar 26, 2020
OtherPractice documented: SuperRare uses Ethereum blockchain smart contracts to record and verify the provenance and ownership history of every digital artwork listed on its marketplace, providing collectors with a tamper-proof authentication record.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Nov 1, 2021
Creative GenPractice documented: SuperRare offers a marketplace where AI-generated digital artworks, including those created by autonomous AI systems such as Botto, are listed and auctioned alongside human-made works. The platform's CEO has publicly stated that SuperRare artists were among the early adopters of AI.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Nov 30, 2021
Creative GenNew evidence: 'Botto', the robot creating works of art, makes its first million at auction
Evidence AddedView practice →Mar 19, 2024
OtherNew evidence: IPs, AI, And Immersivity In Art Curation: Dinis Guarda Interviews John Crains And Jonathan Perkins, Co-Founders Of SuperRare
Evidence AddedView practice →Mar 19, 2024
Creative GenNew evidence: IPs, AI, And Immersivity In Art Curation: Dinis Guarda Interviews John Crains And Jonathan Perkins, Co-Founders Of SuperRare
Evidence AddedView practice →Mar 26, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: This artist at Art Basel Hong Kong has made millions of dollars. It's not even human
Evidence AddedView practice →Recent activity
SuperRare uses Ethereum blockchain smart contracts to record and verify the provenance and ownership history of every digital artwork listed on its marketplace, providing collectors with a tamper-proof authentication record.
Each artwork minted on SuperRare is tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain, embedding permanent metadata on-chain that tracks ownership history and verifies the piece's origin. The platform's co-founder John Crain described this combination of provenance and AI-created art as enabling authentication of 'nearly any piece of art.' This is a blockchain automation function rather than a machine learning AI system, but it intersects with discussions of AI art authentication. Sources do not confirm SuperRare uses machine learning algorithms specifically for authenticity classification; the authentication mechanism is blockchain-based smart contracts.
SuperRare offers a marketplace where AI-generated digital artworks, including those created by autonomous AI systems such as Botto, are listed and auctioned alongside human-made works. The platform's CEO has publicly stated that SuperRare artists were among the early adopters of AI.
Botto, described as a 'decentralized autonomous artist,' uses AI image-generation models including Stable Diffusion and Kandinsky AI to produce text-prompt-driven images. Its closed-loop engine creates up to 70,000 images per day, of which 350 are presented each week to a community of voters; the community selects one winning piece, which is minted as an NFT and auctioned on SuperRare. In 2025, Botto's weekly auctions on SuperRare fetched bids ranging from 1 to 100 Ether per piece. SuperRare CEO John Crain noted in a 2024 interview that combining art and AI creates a 'pristine provenance record' for authentication.
All practices by category
Cite this record
Trace Foundation. (2026). SuperRare: documented AI practices (data as of 2026-04-27) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/company/bc84360b-3bcf-4d99-870f-6cdfb4374cd8. Accessed September 7, 2026.
- Stable link
- https://www.aitrace.org/r/company/bc84360b-3bcf-4d99-870f-6cdfb4374cd8
- Data as of
- April 27, 2026
- Last verified
- April 22, 2026
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