Written by Technology has come a long way now, from AI-generated images to videos and other forms of artwork. But did you know that, aside from artificial intelligence creating “art,” a humanoid robot artist is also gaining popularity for its paintings?
Amazing, right?
Ai-Da is the first ultra-realistic artist robot in the world that was created in February 2019. She can draw, paint, and make sculptures using cameras in her eyes and a bionic hand, which are all guided by AI.
Ai-Da, designed to look female, was created by Aidan Meller, an art dealer and gallerist in the UK.
Her first solo exhibition, “Unsecured Futures,” occurred at St John’s College, University of Oxford in 2019. Then, in September 2019, Ai-Da was invited to perform at the European ARTificial Intelligence Lab exhibition called Out of the Box: The Midlife Crisis of the Digital Revolution, held in Linz, Austria.
Ai-Da also gave a TEDx talk in Oxford titled The Intersection of Art and AI in February 2020. Then, in May 2021, Ai-Da’s “self-portraits” were shown in the exhibit Ai-Da: Portrait of the Robot at the Design Museum in London.
In September 2021, Ai-Da showcased her first Metaverse works at the Victoria and Albert Museum during the London Design Festival. On April 22, 2022, she also had an exhibition called “Leaping into the Metaverse” at the 59th Venice Biennale.
Ai-Da has also presented at events, like the United Nations’ “AI for Good” Global Initiative, where she discussed the effects of new technologies. She became the first humanoid robot to share her ideas at the House of Lords and the Oxford Union.
Now, Ai-Da is set to contribute a piece titled “AI God,” a portrait of Alan Turing. Turing was an English mathematician, computer scientist, philosopher, and theoretical biologist who made early contributions to artificial intelligence.
The artwork is a mixed-media painting, measuring 64 x 90.5 inches and signed “A” by Ai-Da. It was created in 2024 and is expected to be sold between $120,000 and $180,000 at Sotheby’s upcoming “Digital Art Day” auction on October 31, 2024.
Sotheby is one of the biggest companies that sells fine art, jewelry, and collectibles.
Aside from Ai-Da’s piece, the auction will showcase works from GRAILS: Property from an Iconic Collection and GRAILS: Starry Night, two great digital art collections.
The auction will also feature one-of-a-kind works from popular artists like Refik Anadol, PAK, Xcopy, DesLucrece, and many others within the digital art landscape. It will feature both emerging and expert collectors with a diverse selection of digital art pieces.
According to Sotheby’s, the auction is important because it’s the company’s first sale of artwork created by a humanoid robot. Meller mentioned that Ai-Da’s work is unique since it provides a clear example of AI creativity, which hasn’t been sold at auction.
He also points out that this auction reflects how AI is becoming a part of our society. Many robots are being developed, and they will take on various tasks. The earnings from the auction will support the Ai-Da project.
