AI-Created Artwork Shatters Expectations at Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale
In a remarkable intersection of art and artificial intelligence, a portrait of computing pioneer Alan Turing created by Ai-Da, the world’s first humanoid robot artist, has sold for an astounding $1,084,800 at Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale, far exceeding initial estimates.
Record-breaking sale
The piece, aptly titled ‘A.I God,’ sparked intense bidding interest with 27 offers before being acquired by an anonymous American buyer. The final price dwarfed the original estimate of $180,000, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of AI-created art.
Ai-Da: Meet the artist
Ai-Da, named in honor of Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer, represents a groundbreaking achievement in robotic artistry. Created in 2019 by former gallery owner Aidan Meller, the robot emerged from a collaboration of 30 experts, including AI researchers from Oxford and Birmingham universities.
Technical sophistication
The humanoid artist boasts several remarkable features:
- Cameras integrated into her eyes
- Advanced AI algorithms
- A sophisticated robotic arm for painting
- Facial features modeled after human characteristics
- Distinctive brown bob hairstyle
The creative process
The creation of Turing’s portrait involved multiple sophisticated steps:
- Analysis of Turing’s photographs
- Creation of 15 distinct facial studies
- Integration of multiple portraits and a decryption machine image
- Computer processing using Ai-Da’s language model
- 3-D textured printing
- Final refinements by studio assistants and Ai-Da herself
Symbolic significance
According to Meller, who conceived the project for a UN AI conference, the artwork carries a deeper meaning. “It is about the transferral of agency onto these machines […] The artwork is saying that we are going into a period where we ask algorithms about what partner we want, what job we want, even what babies we want,” he explained.
Historical context
The choice of Alan Turing as the subject matter proves particularly poignant, given his pioneering predictions about AI’s potential in the 1950s. The portrait portrays him as the “god of AI,” creating a fascinating dialogue between past predictions and present realities in artificial intelligence.