First portrait made by robot artist fetches $1M at auction
In a first, an artwork created by a humanoid robot has been sold at an auction. The 2.2-meter tall portrait of British mathematician and logician Alan Turing, titled "A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing," was sold for a whopping $1.08 million (around ₹8.96 crore) in New York on Thursday. It far exceeded pre-sale estimates of $120,000 to $180,000 (₹89 lakh to ₹1 crore), when it went up for auction at Sotheby's, which confirmed receiving 27 bids on the piece.
Ai-Da: The world's 1st ultra-realistic robot artist
The creator of the portrait, Ai-Da, is the world's first ultra-realistic robot artist. The advanced humanoid employs artificial intelligence to converse and generate ideas for her work. The portrait of Turing was conceived during a discussion about "AI for good" with her studio team. Ai-Da then used cameras in her eyes to study a picture of Turing and create the painting, following suggestions on style, color, content, tone, and texture from her team.
Turing's portrait sparks dialogue on AI's societal impact
Ai-Da's artwork is not only visually striking but also carries a profound message. The robot artist said that her work serves as a catalyst for discussions about emerging technologies. She further explained that the portrait of Turing encourages viewers to contemplate the God-like nature of AI and computing, while considering their ethical and societal implications. This is in line with Turing's own concerns about the use of AI, expressed back in the 1950s.
Ai-Da's creator and the inspiration behind her name
Ai-Da was conceived by Aidan Meller, a modern and contemporary art expert. The creation involved working with AI experts from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham. Meller said that "the greatest artists in history grappled with their period of time, and both celebrated and questioned society's shifts." Notably, Ai-Da's name is inspired by Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer.
