Ai-Da robot sells artwork for $1 million

We live in a time when: AI artist and AI Museum,In other words, A.I.It’s no surprise that powered robots have fetched big bucks at art auctions. But we’re talking bank.

aidaa realistic robot with short hair. self-portrait And that work of art is now a modern-day legend, becoming the first humanoid robot to sell a piece at auction (but not) Artwork generated by AI was sold at auction for the first time). Last Thursday, I Da’s portrait of scientist, mathematician, and World War II Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing sold for a staggering $1.08 million at Sotheby’s.

Part of the auction house digital art saleA work titled AI god (It was first exhibited at the United Nations in Geneva in May. AI for Good Global Summit) was estimated to sell for between $120,000 and $180,000, and received 27 bids before the anonymous buyer declared victory.

Ai-Da, the world’s first artist robot created by aida robot studio Director Aidan Mellor and his team have eye cameras and a robotic arm that speaks using an AI language model. I interviewed Ida And I can assure you, she loves chatting. Mellor explained that Ida chose Turing as her subject.

“We’re using AI language models to have conversations with Ida about what she wants to draw,” Mellor said in a press statement. “We talked with her about AI for good, and as a result, Ai-Da chose Alan Turing as a key figure in the history of AI that she wants to write.”

Mellor said the team then discussed the style choices with Ai Da. What textures, tones, and colors will be incorporated into the piece? For the study, the researchers showed Ida a photo of Turing, and the algorithm made a decision.

“Then, using a camera in her eye, Ida looks at a photo of Alan Turing along with an AI drawing and painting algorithm and a robotic arm to create a preliminary sketch, and then creates several paintings of Alan Turing. ,” Keller said.

Of course, Ai-Da also references existing art to determine the style of his work. According to Sotheby’sAi-Da’s art is “inspired by the work of Pablo Picasso.” Guernica and Doris Salcedo’s Atravilariosa work that depicts human suffering through a divided and distorted aesthetic. In particular, Ai-Da’s fractured visual style resembles Kathe Kollwitz and Edvard Munch, rejecting pure expression and instead reflecting the technological and psychological fractures that characterize modern life. I am choosing that. ”

Ai-Da’s infamous robot arm.
Credit: Ai-Da Robot Studios

For the finished piece, Ai-Da used a robotic arm to complete numerous ink sketches of Turing, then painted 15 A3-sized plates of Turing’s face using up to 10 colors in oil and acrylic paint. I did. Each one took 6-8 hours. . The team then asked Ai-Da how they should put these pictures together.

“for AI god“Ai Da chose three of the 15 portraits of Alan Turing and her painting of Alan Turing’s cylinder machine,” Mellor explained. Turing Welchman Bombe Machine This was the device used by the team that broke the Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II.

“In the background of the finished portrait you can see a picture of a cylinder machine. Notice the circular mark, which is Ida’s interpretation of a cylinder machine dial,” Mellor said. “The three paintings of Alan Turing and the cylinder machine that Ai Da selected were then photographed and uploaded to a computer where, based on discussions with Ai Da, (her language model) The final image was assembled using the following information: “What she wanted the final artwork to look like.”

Three portraits selected by Ai-Da.
Credit: Ai-Da Robot Studios

The final artwork sold at auction was printed on a giant canvas. But like many artists over the centuries (from Michelangelo to Hirst), Ai Da had the backing of a studio, with human assistants adding texture. “This is because Ai-Da’s robotic painting arm cannot extend to large-scale canvases and is limited to A3-sized canvases,” Mellor said. “The underlying image remains unchanged during this process. Ai-D then adds marks and textures to the final canvas to complete the piece. The position and color of the marks are determined by Ai-D. “Based on what she wants to do.” ”

This is not the first time that Aida’s work in the art field has made headlines. 2022 Ai-Da solo exhibition “Leap to the Metaverse” Held during the Venice Biennale, AI-DA has exhibited at the London Design Biennale, London Design Festival, Ashmolean Museum, V&A, Tate Modern, and held multiple artist residencies. Ida painted the queen and 2022 Glastonbury Headliners Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish and more. This means that for an AI artist, all this kind of press work can be completed in one day.

Of course, Ai-Da issued a press statement. AI god:

“A key value of my work is the ability to act as a catalyst for dialogue around emerging technologies. AI godA portrait of pioneer Alan Turing, this piece invites viewers to consider the divine nature of AI and computing, as well as the ethical and social implications of these advances. Alan Turing recognized this possibility and sees us running towards this future. ”

Ai-Da and “AI God”.
Credit: Ai-Da Robot Studios

AI-generated art is a sensitive field, with platforms such as: in the middle of a journey, DaruiGemini, stable diffusion, and all sorts of other things that are controversial. false alarm to historical inaccuracies, copyright infringement; and job threat. but The first art generated by AI dates back to the 70s — and interest from the art world. researcherand the general public of AI artists has definitely increased in recent years.

In 2019, AICAN, a near-autonomous AI artistopened its first exhibition to a packed gallery in Chelsea. today, 20,000 square foot museum of AI-generated art is about to open in Los Angeles.

In 2018, Christie’s becomes first auction house to offer algorithmically generated artsell products created by AI Edmond de Bellamy from “Bellamy’s Family” At $432,500. Today, Ai-Da’s $1 million payday proves that AI artists aren’t going anywhere, and neither are their buyers.