Who would want a picture painted by a robot? We don’t know for sure, but whoever it is has just spent a fabulous amount of money to buy it.
“AI God” is a painting depicting the famous cryptanalyst Alan Turing, and it was created by Ai-Da, who describes herself on her website as an “ultra-realistic robot artist.” The work, which was sold this week at Sotheby’s in New York for over a million dollars, looks like this:
The Art Newspaper writes that after 27 bids, the lucky winner walked away with the painting, forking out more than a million dollars.
You may wonder how it is possible that a robot can paint a picture. Ai-Da’s website states that it is “capable of [both] drawing and painting using cameras in its eyes, artificial intelligence algorithms, and a robotic arm.”
Ai-Da itself is the work of Aidan Miller, who describes himself as a “specialist in modern and contemporary art.” According to Miller, he created Ai-Da to inspire a dialog about “the current obsession with technology and its unfolding legacy.” It is not yet clear whether Ai-Da or Miller will profit from the sale of AI God.
The Sotheby’s auction house published a statement quoted by Barron’s confirming the sale: “Today’s record-breaking sale price for the first humanoid robot artist to be auctioned marks an important moment in the history of contemporary art and reflects the growing interaction between artificial intelligence technology and the global art market.”
“Ai-Da’s depiction of Turing not only honors his legacy, but also explores the broader transformative impact of technology on human identity, creativity, and agency, making her work a milestone in both art and AI,” Sotheby’s website says. Earlier this year, Ai-Da exhibited “AI God” as “part of a five-panel polyptych at the United Nations” during the Geneva summit titled “Artificial Intelligence for Good.”
After the sale, Ai-Da was quoted by Barron’s. “The value of my work is,” said Ai-Da: “The key value of my work lies in its ability to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about new technologies.”
