What are Non-Fungible Tokens?
NFTs are unique, non-interchangeable digital tokens with identifiers stored in the blockchain. Blockchain provides a secure vehicle for the transfer of NFTs, and the record of transactions is permanent. NFT owners can use blockchain technology to trace the ownership of an NFT back to its manufacturer.
Potential uses for NFTs
Almost anything can have a blockchain identifier associated with it, and the uses for NFT technology are limited only by the manufacturer's imagination. Here are some examples.
Digital media: The most easily recognizable use for NFTs is as an authenticator of digital art. Previously there was no way for collectors to authenticate a one-of-a-kind piece of digital art. Anyone who possessed a copy could theoretically "own" the artwork. With NFTs, it is now possible for an individual to claim sole ownership of a piece of digital artwork if they possess the blockchain identifier. The ability to authenticate digital art has led to an explosion of creativity and sales in the digital art market.
Physical goods: An NFT tied to a physical product can authenticate that product and trace its ownership through the blockchain. Things that are easily faked, like luxury clothing or handbags, can now be tied to an NFT that provides proof of authenticity and ownership. This technology is a boon for companies that lose millions in revenue each year to fake merchandise. Individuals can also track their luxury items by integrating NFTs with RFID tags, providing proof of ownership in case of theft.
In the metaverse: The metaverse is an online space where people can meet and interact, conduct business, or enjoy a wide range of virtual entertainment. Because the metaverse is an entirely virtual experience, metaverse users can integrate NFTs into any aspect of it. Personal avatars, real estate, unique clothing, and tickets to virtual concerts or other events can all be represented by NFTs in the metaverse.
NFT museums: Art exhibits like the Louvre in Paris or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City could offer virtual reality tours of their collections. These tours would make touring famous art museums a much more attainable experience for most people.
NFTs in science: Scientists could use NFTs to track experiments and data in the lab. Using NFTs would make scientific record-keeping and collaboration between distant labs much easier.
NFTs in medicine: One of the coolest potential uses for NFTs is as a medical record. Patient health data could be uploaded into a digital health record that is also an NFT. The NFT could then be tied to an RFID that each individual carries with them at all times. Authorized health providers would have access to any health information they needed, and it would add a layer of security to health records because every interaction with the record would be logged in the blockchain.
NFTs as Veblen goods
Veblen goods are products that become more desirable as their price increases (Sundie, et al., 2011). The seemingly paradoxical relationship between price and demand associated with Veblen goods can be attributed to the social status conveyed by possessing an expensive product (Sundie, et al., 2011). In simpler words, people don't buy expensive watches for their utility as timekeeping pieces; a thirty-dollar quartz Casio will keep better time than a Rolex. People buy expensive watches to signal that they have money and should be treated deferentially.
NFTs that sell for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars represent a new type of Veblen good. The prestige of owning a coveted NFT can push collectors to pay astronomical prices for a digital picture of a monkey. Luxury NFTs can now also be flaunted in the metaverse, allowing consumers to display their wealth in real life and in the digital realm.
Another interesting aspect of NFTs is their potential use as a sexual signal in the metaverse. One of the reasons men buy Veblen goods is to indicate to women that they have excess resources and would make a good sexual partner (Sundie, et al., 2011). In the metaverse, traditional factors in sexual selection such as physical prowess or intelligence may not be immediately evident, so people could use expensive NFTs as a proxy for other sexual traits. It will be interesting to see how men and women use NFTs as status symbols in the future.
I know this wasn’t really the point of the Buttons’ talk, but I am now very interested in NFTs, the metaverse, and sexual selection. If we remove all physical characteristics that people normally use to select a mate, what is left? What kind of NFTs will people in the metaverse use as proxies for traditional sexual traits? Will humans become a truly dimorphic species within the metaverse as Fisherian runaway takes off? Or will amorphism emerge as the dominant sexual expression? A few preliminary experiments that readily come to mind are:
1. Testing to see which sex buys more NFTs or more valuable NFTs. You would expect men to invest more resources in NFTs if people are using them as a proxy for other sexual characteristics.
2. Testing to see whether men and women can identify members of the opposite sex that are actively seeking mates based on their NFT possessions in the metaverse.
3. Observing how sexual relationships in the metaverse intersect with sexual relationships in real life.
I think this will be a super cool emerging field in Biology and Sociology, and I am excited to see where it leads. I am also curious to see what other novel uses for NFTs my classmates have imagined.
Works Cited
Sundie, J., Kenrik, D., Griskevicius, V., Vohs, K., Tyber, J., & Beal, D. (2011). Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption as a Sexual Signaling System. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 664-680.
Image from: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/nft-non-fungible-token/