A painting of British mathematician, logician, and computer scientist Alan Turing has sold for a record $1.3 million (£1 million). But the picture is not drawn by any man. It has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robot.
According to famous international auction house Sotheby's, 27 bids were received for the 'AI God' digital art auction. It was estimated to sell for $120,000 to $180,000.
Mathematician Alan Turing pioneered computer science and artificial intelligence and is known as the 'Father of Artificial Intelligence'. 'AI Da Robot' creates a large-scale original portrait of Alan Turing.
The auction house said the historic sale marked a new horizon in the global art market and established a new auction benchmark for works of art painted by an anthropomorphic robot.
Scientist Alan Turing played an important role in the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. He helped break the code and decode the famous 'Enigma' machine at Bletchley Park. After the war, Turing designed the modern digital computer.
Sotheby's said it bought the painting at an online auction last Thursday from an undisclosed buyer for 'well above the artwork's estimate'.
The sale price of the first artwork by an anthropomorphic robot artist marks a special moment in the history of modern and contemporary art and reflects the growing connection between artificial intelligence technology and the global art market, the auction house added.
AI Dr uses an advanced artificial intelligence language model to make the robot speak. The robot says of the painting, 'The value of my work is its ability to act as a catalyst to start a discussion about emerging technologies.
The robot says, 'This work will inspire viewers to think about the 'godlike' nature of AI and computing. Consider the ethical and social implications of these technologies.'
AI-D Robot Studio Director Adin Meller said, 'This auction is an important moment for the industry, where the image of AI-D Robot draws attention to the industrial world and social changes. Because we are dealing with the emerging era of artificial intelligence.'
References: BBC
