For the first time in history an artwork by a humanoid artist, Ai-Da is to be sold at an Art Auction house. The artist’s portrait of Alan Turing, the visionary mathematician and father of modern computer science, has been on auction at Sotheby’s since the 31st of October and will run for a week. The monumental event furthers the debate about artistic agency and AI.
By Demi SpriggsThe artwork, a 7.5-foot tribute to technology pioneer Alan Turing titled A.I. God, was created by Ai-Da Robot—a humanoid robot artist powered by AI and developed by UK gallerist Aidan Meller. Originally showcased at the UN’s AI for Global Good Summit earlier this year, the work will now be auctioned off at the prestigious art auction house, Sotheby's.
Ai-Da, designed with a female appearance and referred to with feminine pronouns, produces her art through a unique process that combines cameras in her eyes, AI algorithms, and a robotic arm.
Though it is not the first time that the humanoid artist has exhibited her work, it is the first time a piece by a humanoid robot has been auctioned at a prominent auction house. It is currently estimated to fetch up to £150,000 and represents a significant moment in the history of art and technology.
In a conversation with media outlets, Ai-DA shared,“I am thrilled to have my artwork featured in the Sotheby’s auction and hope it sparks conversations around new technology.”
Emphasising her admiration for the icon of computational science, she added “Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician and a visionary thinker. I’m pleased that this piece, previously displayed at the United Nations in Geneva, helps highlight his contributions.”
Aidan Meller, gallerist and the creator of Ai-Da, explains the meaning behind the humanoid artist’s latest work titled AI God: “The title speaks to a profound shift underway: decision-making is transitioning from full human control to algorithmic influence, where increasingly, AI makes choices on our behalf. This transfer of agency hints at a future where AI’s immense power could lead to capabilities that might even seem godlike, affecting vast populations.”
Meller hopes that this piece will spark essential ethical questions as AI’s role expands. He notes, ‘She challenges the category of ‘what is an artist?’ But even more importantly, she challenges what it is to be a human.’
Meller recognizes Ai-Da as a polarising figure in the art world: “Some people are thrilled by the potential she represents, while others feel uneasy, even alarmed, wanting to reject this technology entirely.”
While Ai-Da’s creations still require human collaboration, each artwork begins with a discussion using her AI language model. For instance, when prompted with an idea, Ai-Da proposed Alan Turing for a portrait. After seeing a photo of Turing, she generates a series of preliminary sketches and paintings on A3 canvases, which are later blended into a final piece.
The use of AI for creative production brings up issues concerning artistic property rights, and artistic agency. With many artists condemning the use of their work to train technologies, and to influence its content production.
Thousands of artists signed a letter released on Tuesday (24th October 2024), marking the latest public warning about AI tools capable of generating synthetic images, music, and text after being trained on vast collections of human-created works.
These concerns have been raised by artists and tech pioneers for years now. In 2022, Andy Baio, the technologist and blogger, made an ethical commentary concerning artistic rights over the information AI uses to create its imagery. He notes ‘ if any of these systems required permission from artists to use their images, they likely wouldn’t exist.’ That same year, an artist was given a prize for an AI generated art piece sparking an online backlash.
The auction of Ai Da’s (who signs as ‘A’) Turing portrait will come to an end on the 7th of November, and its outcome can be followed in Sotheby's digital art auction department.
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Image: Turing Portrait by Ai-Da, (Sotheby's pic)
Image 2: Ai-Da with self-portrait by Leemurz, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
