This is the part of the discussion I didn't understand. I think the blockchain will play a huge role in digital ownership in the years and decades to come, but not necessarily NFTs.

I'd love to hear input, so if anyone else has perspective, please reply.

Based on my EXTREMELY limited understanding of NFTs, here's what I think is going to happen. The special thing about NFTs is that they're exchanged on the blockchain, which means there is always a point of origin and a chain of exchanges/purchase that is tracible yet secure. I think once our online VR environment grows and matures and becomes more accessible and higher quality, the "random generated monkey jpgs" will be in the past. NFTs don't have to be images at all. I believe eventually there will be VR collectors and augmented reality collectors that have artworks that have been created in and meant to be enjoyed in a digital environments. CAD artists can design "digital sculptures" or other created environments that would be impossible to create in the real world that can be enjoyed in these digital environments. Selling these creations as NFTs on the blockchain means that even if it's sold from one person to another, the creator can see who it's been sold to and even collect a portion of the secondary sale due to the traceability on the blockchain. And because these creations are digital, they can make copies available, almost like a limited release, in the same way artists create prints of their work. There are those that believe NFTs will put the power back in creator's hands. If someone take a photo and edits it, and then posts online, anyone can take a screenshot of the photo which will look identical (maybe not the same quality as the original) and that image is now a completely different file from the original. It's only recently with Google reverse image search and the like that creators have been able to find people stealing their work and take action, while working with NFTs keep the true original in the hands of who it's meant to be.

Eventually AI will probably play a role in these digital creations as well. 3D artists will be able to work with AI and provide prompts derivative from other pieces the artist has created or from information that's been fed to the AI, making a collaborative work that can change based on who the work is created for.

I think NFTs are in their infancy, and that as a whole there will be a lot of changes in the decades to come about how society views them and uses them. Back in the day, when the Dada art movement began to break down the ideas of "what is art?", I think with the progression of digital spaces, we're now asking "what is real?". It used to be that only physical things that we can touch and hold were considered real, but now the internet and our digital lives are becoming part of reality, and this will become harder to discern between as more and more people gain access to VR spaces.

This is giving Layers of Fear vibes and I am INTO IT.