I have such vivid memories of when almost everyone online started making fun of NFT enthusiasts and laughed at them for thinking that taking screenshots of their NFTs was basically stealing. The whole thing seemed crazy to me, and I remember it so well because I was actively making jokes about NFTs and how silly the concept was. Every time I posted something making fun of them, I would get tons of upvotes and reactions across different social media sites.
It was really entertaining to save their digital artwork, share it around, or do anything else with it, and then see them get really upset and accuse you of being a criminal for “taking” their property, even though their actual NFT was still sitting in their digital wallet.
What’s really crazy is how much things have changed in just a couple of years. The internet has done a complete 180 on this topic. Now many people are using the same exact arguments that they used to make fun of.
I keep thinking that if NFTs had come out at the same time as AI art generation, way more people would probably be supporting the NFT crowd right now.
The timing thing you mentioned is spot on. I watched the NFT bubble from the sidelines working in tech, and the whiplash was wild. What got me was how fast the mockery flipped to genuine concern about digital ownership once AI started scraping art without permission. Same people celebrating right-clicking JPEGs suddenly got why creators wanted protection for their work. The irony? NFTs were trying to solve a real problem - just with awful execution and crazy speculation that buried any legit use cases. Now we’re having the same debates about consent and ownership, but it’s about AI training data instead of blockchain receipts. Really shows how context and timing can totally flip how people see technology.
Oh wow, this brings back memories! I was definitely screenshotting NFTs left and right back then lol. Your point about AI art timing is really interesting though - think people would’ve supported NFTs more if they launched together?
What specific arguments are you seeing that mirror the old NFT defender talking points? Are people saying AI art “theft” is the same as screenshotting NFTs?
It’s crazy how fast internet culture shifts. Makes me wonder what else we’re laughing at now that’ll seem normal in a few years. Which communities did you see this flip happen most dramatically? Twitter was brutal for NFT dunking, but maybe that’s where the change is most obvious too.
Yeah, the NFT craze was insane. People lost their minds when you’d right-click save their monkey pics lmao. The AI art comparison nails it though - now everyone’s suddenly protecting artists after they spent years trashing digital ownership. Same energy, just switched sides.