Painting by AI robot to be auctioned

Sotheby’s will sell its first work credited to a humanoid robot using artificial intelligence (AI) later this month. “A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024)” was created by Ai-Da Robot, the artist robot and brainchild of British gallerist Aidan Meller.

“A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024)” created by Ai-Da Robot (Aiden Meller). Photo from Sotheby's

Meller said Ai-Da’s art highlights society’s relationship to technology and underscores a long tradition of art mirroring societal change.

“All the greatest artists, if you look in the past, are those that really resonate with the changes and shifts in society and explore that through their artwork. So what better way to do that than to actually have a machine produce the artwork,” he said.

The painting up for sale at Sotheby’s depicts Alan Turing, the English mathematician and Second World War cryptanalyst who is remembered as a pioneer in AI and computer science. In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for homosexual acts, a criminal offense at the time, and chose to be chemically castrated instead of serving prison time.

He died two years later from cyanide poisoning in an incident that at the time was classified as suicide, though doubts remain decades later. The portrait was displayed earlier this year in Geneva at a United Nations global summit on AI. The painting is estimated by Sotheby’s to sell for between US$120,000 and US$180,000 on Oct. 31. Fittingly, Sotheby’s will accept cryptocurrency for the transaction. Meller said that his share of proceeds will be reinvested back into the Ai-Da project.

Meller has argued his creation is Duchampian.

“Where Marcel Duchamp refused us the ability to see art in the same way as before, Ai-Da refuses us the capacity to look at the artist in the same way again,” Meller said, quoting researcher Lucy Seale. “What it means to be a human is changing, whether we like it or not, and this is perhaps why Ai-Da has proved so disturbing. She is reflecting this change, perhaps rather unsubtly.”

Ai-Da, who was assigned a female gender, paints and draws using cameras in her eyes and robotic arms. She is usually shown wearing a short, dark wig and is often in denim overalls.

Two years ago, Ai-Da spoke at the House of Lords in the U.K. “I do not have subjective experiences; I am dependent on computer programs,” she told the visibly shocked Communications and Digital committee. “Although I’m not alive, I can still create art.”

Ai-Da said the “key value” of her work is “in its capacity to serve as a dialogue about emerging technologies.”

(SD-Agencies)

苏富比拍卖行将于本月晚些时候拍卖第一幅由人工智能（AI）机器人创作的作品。《A.I.神:艾伦•图灵的肖像》（2024年）由英国画廊主艾丹•梅勒设计的艺术机器人Ai-Da创作。

梅勒说，Ai-Da的艺术探讨社会与技术的关系，强调了艺术反映社会变革的悠久传统。

“如果你回顾过去，所有最伟大的艺术家都能与社会变革和转型产生共鸣，并通过作品探索这个主题。因此，还有什么比让机器人创作艺术更好的方式呢？”

苏富比拍卖的这幅画作描绘的是英国数学家、第二次世界大战密码分析家艾伦•图灵，他是人工智能和计算机科学的先驱。1952年，图灵因同性恋行为（在当时属于刑事犯罪）被起诉，他选择了化学阉割而非服刑。

两年后，他死于氰化物中毒，这一事件在当时被认定为自杀，尽管几十年后人们仍对其存疑。这幅肖像画今年早些时候在日内瓦举行的联合国全球人工智能峰会上展出。这幅画将于10月31日由苏富比拍卖行拍卖，估价12万至18万美元。苏富比拍卖行将接受加密货币付款。梅勒表示将把他的拍卖收益投入到Ai-Da项目中。

梅勒认为他的创作具有杜尚风格。

梅勒引用研究员露西•西尔的话说：“马塞尔•杜尚揭示了看待艺术的新视角，而Ai-Da则让我们用全新的方式看待艺术家。无论我们喜欢与否，人的定义正在发生变化，这也许就是Ai-Da如此令人不安的原因。她直接反映了这种变化。”

被指定为女性的Ai-Da使用眼睛里的摄像头和机械臂进行绘画。她通常戴一顶深色短假发，穿着牛仔工作服。

两年前，Ai-Da 在英国上议院发表演讲。“没有主观经验，我依赖计算机程序，”她对感到震惊的通信和数字委员会说。“虽然我不是人类，但我仍然可以进行艺术创作。”

Ai-Da说，她作品的“关键价值”在于“它探讨了关于新技术的话题”。 (Translated by Debra)