Who would desire a portray made by a robotic? I’m unsure, however whoever they’re, they simply spent an insane sum of money to purchase it.
“AI God,” is a portray that depicts famed cryptanalyst Alan Turing, and it was created by Ai-Da, who’s described on her website as being an “ultra-realistic robotic artist.” The work, which was bought at Sotheby’s public sale home in New York for over one million {dollars} this week, appears like this:
Ai-Da’s alan turing portray makes historical past as first work bought by humanoid robotic at @Sothebys https://t.co/GpVYt5tiBg pic.twitter.com/3KyqTXIVqJ
— designboom (@designboom) November 8, 2024
The Artwork Newspaper writes that after 27 bids, the fortunate winner walked away with the portray, having forked over greater than one million {dollars}.
You may end up questioning the way it’s even potential {that a} robotic could make a portray. Ai-Da’s web site states that she is “able to [both] drawing and portray utilizing cameras in her eyes, AI algorithms, and her robotic arm.”
Ai-Da, herself, is the work of Aidan Meller, who describes himself as a “specialist in trendy and modern artwork.” Meller has mentioned that he created Ai-Da in an effort to encourage a dialogue about “the present obsession with know-how and its unfolding legacy.” It’s unclear who’s going to maintain the income from the “AI God” sale, Ai-Da or Meller.
Sotheby’s public sale home launched a press release, right here quoted by Barron’s, that acknowledged the sale: “As we speak’s record-breaking sale value for the primary paintings by a humanoid robotic artist to go up for public sale marks a second within the historical past of contemporary and modern artwork and displays the rising intersection between A.I. know-how and the worldwide artwork market.”
“Ai-Da’s portrayal of Turing not solely honors his legacy but in addition explores the broader, transformative affect of know-how on human id, creativity, and company, making her work a big milestone in each artwork and AI,” Sotheby’s web site states. Earlier this yr, Ai-Da exhibited AI God as “a part of a five-paneled polyptych on the United Nations” throughout a Geneva summit dubbed “AI for Good.”
After the sale of the piece, Ai-Da was quoted by Barron’s as saying: “The important thing worth of my work is its capability to function a catalyst for dialogue about rising applied sciences.”
All of this form of begs the query: What is that this for? Are individuals really concerned about shopping for work “made” by robots? In that case, why? Personally, I’ve struggled to know the attraction of “artwork” generated by way of software program and {hardware}. Whereas the whole factor can’t assist however really feel like a bizarre grift or opaque PR for the broader AI trade.