Ai-Da - The Robot Artist

Uploaded on 2024-11-11 in TECHNOLOGY-Key Areas-Artificial Intelligence, FREE TO VIEW

A painting by an AI robot of the eminent World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing has sold for $1,084,800 (£836,667) at auction. The auctioneer, Sotheby's, said there were 27 bids for the digital art sale of AI God, which had been originally estimated to sell for between $120,000 (£9,252) and $180,000 (£139,000).

The 2.2 metre (7.5 feet) portrait, titled AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing, was created by Ai-Da, the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist.

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 implications of these advancements.”

Turing, a mathematician and early computer scientist was crucial in the second World War for breaking the Nazi German code and he helped to win Turing later raised concerns about the use of AI in the 1950s.

The scientist played a crucial role in the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two by helping to crack codes and deciphering the infamous Enigma machine at Bletchley Park. After the war Turing produced a detailed design for a digital computer

One of the most advanced robots in the world, Ai-Da is designed to resemble a human woman and is named after Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer. Ai-Da was devised by Aidan Meller, a specialist in modern and contemporary art. Meller led the team that created Ai-Da and worked with artificial intelligence specialists at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.

Ai-Da generates ideas through conversations with members of the studio, and had suggested creating an image of Turing during a discussion about AI. The robot was then asked what style, colour, content, tone and texture to use, before using cameras in its eyes to look at a picture of Turing and create the painting.

In 2022, Ai-Da painted portraits of artists headlining at Glastonbury Festival, including Billie Eilish, Diana Ross, Kendrick Lamar and Sir Paul McCartney.

Image: Ideogram

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