23: Discussing Digital Art in 1Q 2025

Episode page and full transcript: lerandom.art/episodes/discussing-digital-art-i…

In this conversation, the Le Random team reflects on a noteworthy start to 2025 in digital art. Host Peter Bauman (Monk Antony, Le Random's editor in chief) is joined by lerandom.art/subjects/thefunnyguys (CEO) and Conrad House (Nemo Cake, former Collection Lead at Le Random).

Also in this episode: Kim Asendorf (lerandom.art/subjects/kim-asendorf), OpenAI (lerandom.art/subjects/openai), Mario Klingemann (lerandom.art/subjects/mario-klingemann), Sam Spratt (lerandom.art/subjects/sam-spratt), Mat Dryhurst (lerandom.art/subjects/mat-dryhurst), Tom White (lerandom.art/subjects/tom-white), Leander Herzog (lerandom.art/subjects/leander-herzog), Alec Radford (lerandom.art/subjects/alec-radford), Avery Singer (lerandom.art/subjects/avery-singer), Tina Rivers Ryan (lerandom.art/subjects/tina-rivers-ryan)

Listen next: Ep. 20, Recapping 2024 and Projecting 2025 in Digital Art (lerandom.art/episodes/recapping-2024-and-proje…), Ep. 38, 2025 Art in Review with thefunnyguys, Conrad House & Peter Bauman (lerandom.art/episodes/2025-art-in-review-with-…)

Chapters 📖:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:27 Is AI art just plagiarism?
00:04:29 What does fair use mean for AI art?
00:06:53 How are artists using AI tools?
00:08:12 Can new models redistribute value?
00:11:00 Where did AI really come from?
00:14:09 Who holds the power in AI?
00:17:34 Why did AI agents fall short?
00:21:43 Are functional AI agents any better?
00:27:15 Should we stop saying NFT?
00:33:09 What did Sam Spratt's case reveal?
00:40:48 What brought Manolo back?
00:46:49 What is protocol art?
00:51:06 What were Q1's best exhibitions?
00:55:55 What were our Q1 favorites?