Authenticity is Everything
Will autogaphs be worthless in the near future?
Looking for some input. I'm thinking of selling some of my Beatles autographs. I get the impression with the introduction of Ai....that it will be soon impossible to tell the difference between an authentic autograph and a fake one created by Ai. Any thoughts?
- Attachments: No photo uploads here
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John Lennon 1.JPG, 1.7 MB -
George Harrison.JPG, 5.5 MB
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Paul McCartney.JPG, 5.5 MB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mark Saunders on
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You're good with those tracks letters.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Macnab on
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I have a feeling that even Ai will be able to replicate those letters perfectly.
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Permalink Reply by Hyacinth House on
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Artificial intelligence is not to be underestimated when it comes to this industry. It is an issue that will affect things in the future. Thankfully, in the present day, we have this forum and online contributors like Ballroom that keep us updated with a wealth of carefully amassed information. Ai generated fraudulent autos will be hard to decipher but carbon dating amongst other things will still be an additional check if it comes to it. AI might do much but it will never be able to override the age of ink and paper (he declared bravely!)
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on
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As far as I know, Carbon Dating is useless in this context. If you have a photograph signed by Cab Calloway in 1936 the amount of C-14 decay is negligible - comparable to one signed in yesterday. I don't think that is useful. And the margin of error is huge IIRC.
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+1. Very nice and attractive items with great eye appeal. Good spread of dates and all. Technology can cut both ways. It's the humans that worry me.
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Permalink Reply by mark peterson on
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Love the J.L. card, keep it!
I have the same racing program as well as a signed photo. I wonder how many George signed that day, Ive seen quite a few of them.
George also at the same event.
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I often think the same about my Beatles vinyl and memorabilia collection - will they be worth close to what I'm paying in 10-20 years time? Do I treat them as investments I get to enjoy with a small amount of depreciation or perhaps in some cases appreciation, or do I fully just take them as 'I'm paying top whack for these items now and they are for my enjoyment, not investments and they're worth what they're worth whenever I want to sell'.
Weirdly I don't have this worry with my house... or my car... just my Beatles memorabilia!
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Permalink Reply by Jason H on
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I love this take! My aunt was just complaining latst week about losing $40k on her jeep she bought 5 years ago. She travels a lot and put 100k miles on it before trading it in. Her complaining was short lived since her new vehicle was picked up just yesterday. Once again she is in love with a shiny new item that will cost her about $10k a year just to enjoy (not including gas). Personally, I could never... I have no desire to impress anyone. I own a 2007 Honda fit that averages 32mpg. I do my own repairs and will ride it until its unfixable, or a new deal comes along. I'll use the money I save on more autographs haha.
Everyone has a different perspective when it comes to value. I think if you enjoy your autographs solely because they have monetary value, the future is a gamble. A small house fire, flood or tornado could wipe it out just as easy and would be way more devastating to me than any advancement of technology ever could.
Anyways, this is for OP.. For autographs in general, AI alone, no.. machines would still need to replicate pen angle, pressure, flow etc... I've brought up this topic before which I will link below. Personally I'm on the fence and still scared about the future of this hobby for any item that is not personally signed in my presence. Mostly because I'm also collecting for my kids as well and need to look at these items as investments in case they have no interest in them once they are aware of their existence.
You would think with the evolution of technology, there would already be more sophisticated autopen machines available though. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. Everything is a guess. Just some advice, I'd say document everything you own in different ways asap so you have proof something existed that predates whatever technology comes out in the future. This is why I am authenticating some of my items through TPAs, which ironically is not exactly fool proof either haha but it does add another layer I guess.
One thing I do believe is, whoever uses undetectable technology for profit, if they succeed and are found out, their profit will be short lived. Once word gets around, this hobby could completely fall apart monetarily speaking and they ruin it for not only themselves but everyone looking to resell from that point forward, unless, as stated in the other post, AI can actually help with authentication as well.
https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/future-proofing-aut...
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Relax.
In 20 years time everybody's DNA will be on a widely-accessible database online and DNA-detecting machines will be available from Amazon for 49.99.
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Permalink Reply by Josh Board NEW & Improved on
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No, but I will tell you this. I've noticed teenagers now, cannot sign their names (a lot of schools don't teach cursive). So they print their names, and it looks like a 7 year old printed their name. I think when they become adults, and all signatures are just printed names, that look like kids wrote it -- perhaps that might.
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Permalink Reply by Rich on
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Silly overgeneralization. Plenty of teenagers can and do sign their name. Because stupid amounts of time aren't spent on largely obsolete handwriting skills in school curriculums anymore doesn't mean that know one can figure it out and use it.
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And to the OP -- or anybody else -- I highly recommend you DO NOT frame your autographs with the certificate of authenticity. It takes away from the piece. Just attach it to the back of the frame, so it's with the piece if you ever sell or trade the item.
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