If you thought that a piece of art needs to be crafted or drawn by the human hands, it’s time to rethink. At a New York-based art gallery, the paintings created by a humanoid robot—Ai-Da—will change your perception. In fact, a portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing became the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction.
The 2.2 metre (7.5 feet) portrait, titled A.
I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing, by Ai-Da fetched a whopping $1 million at an exhibition by Sotheby’s last Thursday.
The organizers of the exhibition confirmed that at least 27 bids were placed on the work, reported the Guardian. The robot is named after Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer. Ai-Da is the world’s first humanoid AI artist.
It has been created by an Oxford-based art dealer, Aidan Meller. The robot is equipped with cameras that function as its eyes, a robotic arm for painting, and an AI-powered brain. Her AI brain helps her to “see” and recreate anything that’s kept in front of her.
The robot may not have emotions or ideas of her own, but thanks to the programming, she can analyze visual data. Thereafter, she transforms the visual data into art. Ai-Da, which uses AI to speak, said: “The key value of my work is its capacity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about emerging technologies.
” Ai-Da added that a “portrait of pioneer Alan Turing invites viewers to reflect on the God-like nature of AI and computing while considering the ethical and societal implica.
