For the first time, a work created by an AI-powered humanoid robot has sold for a record-breaking amount: over one million dollars. This is the portrait of Alan Turing, titled “AI God,” created by Ai-Da, an artist robot capable of drawing and painting with a robotic arm, thanks to its cameras and algorithms. The painting was auctioned online by Sotheby’s a few days ago during Digital Art Day, where it attracted 27 bids and far surpassed its initial estimate of $120,000–$180,000, closing at $1,084,800.
“AI God,” a depiction of the famous English mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, recognized as one of the founding fathers of modern computing, represents much more than a simple portrait. In fact, the AI-created painting has the distinction of becoming the star of such a significant sale. Ai-Da, the creative “mind” behind the project, responded to questions about the meaning of this new form of art, stating that she does not intend to replace humans. Her goal, she says, is to inspire the public and encourage reflection on how AI can be used positively.
Ai-Da, designed by British art dealer Aidan Meller, has the appearance of a woman with a black bob haircut, wearing casual attire: a T-shirt and denim overalls. She was created in 2019 and embodies a blend of AI and art, and in this case, painting. Her name is an homage to the British Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer.
The humanoid form, which “mimics” a physical presence, sets the piece apart from other purely digital creations. Experts believe that it is precisely Ai-Da’s physical and tangible appearance, combined with the mixed-media technique used for the portrait, that helped capture collectors’ interest.
