Painting by Robot sells for $1 Million

Share to Google Classroom

In an unusual auction, a painting created by a robot named Ai-Da sold for over $1 million, marking a record for AI-created artwork.

The piece, a portrait of famed mathematician and WWII code-breaker Alan Turing, was auctioned for $1,084,800, far exceeding its estimated price of $100,000 to $150,000. Ai-Da is a humanoid robot that looks like a woman and uses advanced technology, including cameras and artificial intelligence, to create paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

To create this artwork, Ai-Da used programming with complex algorithms to produce fifteen portraits of Turing. From these, it selected three to combine, adding an image of Turing’s “bombe machine” — a device he helped invent to decode enemy messages in WWII. The chosen images were uploaded to a computer and printed onto a large 2.28-meter-high canvas, which Ai-Da then textured with her robotic arms. Studio assistants helped add finishing touches since Ai-Da couldn’t reach the edges of the canvas.

This artwork by Ai-Da, the first robot to have its work sold at a major auction house, is sparking conversation about the role of technology in art. Ai-Da explained that her goal is to encourage discussions about how technology is changing creative fields and our world.

1
A dead stoat has been discovered on Stewart Island, a...
1
A newly studied fossil from 500 million years ago may...
1
Moo Deng, a pygmy hippo who became a social media...
1
María José Fuster has officially broken a world record by...
1
A man from Long Island may have set a new...

World & National News

1
The United Nations (UN) and over 100 charities are warning...
1
Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum in Wellington, has been...
1
A team of scientists in Switzerland has built a robot...
1
The Government has announced that voters will no longer be...
1
Ed Sheeran is coming back to New Zealand next year...