A digital painting created by an AI robot sold for $1,084,800 (£836,667) at auction. The painting is of World War II codebreaker and mathematician Alan Turing. Turing is known as the father of Artificial Intelligence. The digital painting was originally estimated to sell between $120,000 (£90,252) and $180,000 (£139,000). After 27 bids, that number skyrocketed.

AI Artist

The AI-Da robot is the artist but also a humanoid robot. This is the first time a painting done by such a machine has sold at auction. The auction house said the historic sale “launches a new frontier in the global art market, establishing the auction benchmark for an artwork by a humanoid robot.” For example, the world’s first Artificial Intelligence Art Award was announced.

The auction house added that the first sale of artwork created by a humanoid robot “marks a moment in the history of modern and contemporary art and reflects the growing intersection between A.I. technology and the global art market.”

In addition to creating artwork, the Ai-Da Robot is an advanced language model to speak. The robot said, “The key value of my work is its capacity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about emerging technologies.” Ai-Da Robot added that “the work invites viewers to reflect on the god-like nature of AI and computing while considering the ethical and societal implications of these advancements.” The robotic artist added how its subject paved the way for this moment.

“Alan Turing recognized this potential, and stares at us, as we race towards this future.”

This undoubtedly raises questions about AI’s capabilities and where the future is headed. There is an ongoing argument regarding artificial intelligence and the arts. The robot’s quote mentions the “ethical and societal” implications of the advancement of technology.

Aidan Meller, director of the Ai-Da Robot Studios, said, “This auction is an important moment for the visual arts, where Ai-Da’s artwork brings focus on [the art world] and societal changes as we grapple with the rising age of AI.” He added, “The artwork ‘AI God’ raises questions about agency as AI gains more power.”

The Artwork

The digital painting is a large-scale original portrait of Turing. During World War II, the scientist helped the Allies defeat Nazi Germany by cracking codes and deciphering the Enigma machine at Bletchley Park. After the war, he produced a detailed design for a digital computer “in the modern sense.”

“The original question, ‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion.” – Alan Turing, Mechanical Intelligence: Collected Works of A.M. Turing