$1M ‘A.I. God’ painting? Ultra-artistic humanoid robot creates uncanny artwork of British mathematician — representing “the struggles Turing warned we will face when it comes to managing AI”

$1M 'A.I. God' painting? Ultra-artistic humanoid robot creates uncanny artwork of British mathematician — representing "the struggles Turing warned we will face when it comes to managing AI"

What you need to know

  • An AI-generated painting of British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing was sold for $1,084,800 (£836,667) at an auction. It was initially estimated to sell between $120,000 and $180,000.
  • The painting was created by a humanoid robot called Ai-Da, featuring mute tones and broken facial planes that represent the struggles Turing projected humans would encounter while attempting to manage AI.
  • The auction house indicates the sale of the AI-generated painting “marks a moment in the history of modern and contemporary art and reflects the growing intersection between AI technology and the global art market.”

As a seasoned researcher with a keen interest in both technology and art, I find myself at the crossroads of fascination and apprehension when it comes to AI-generated artwork. The recent sale of an AI-created painting of Alan Turing for over a million dollars is indeed intriguing, but it raises several questions about the value we place on originality, creativity, and the role of human artists in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.


For quite some time, I’ve been captivated by all forms of art, yet recently, my fascination has waned – mirroring the feelings expressed earlier this year by Jack Dorsey, a co-founder and former CEO of Twitter.

It’s essential to verify information instead of blindly trusting it. Personal experience and self-learning will be crucial in the coming years due to advancements in technology like deepfakes and manipulated images. The line between reality and falsehood may become increasingly blurred, making it difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

Art galleries typically showcase complex and uncommon artworks and paintings, valued in the millions or even billions. In an unexpected twist, a painting depicting British mathematician Alan Turing was recently purchased for $1,084,800 (£836,667) at auction, as reported by BBC. What makes this story even more intriguing is that the painting was created by a humanoid robot named Ai-Da. To provide some background, Ai-Da possesses advanced artistic abilities.

If you wonder who Alan Turing is, he was a renowned British mathematician and computer scientist, frequently referred to as the “father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.” He is also known for creating the Turing Test, which evaluates a computer’s ability to mimic human-like tendencies and intelligence.

Initially, it was predicted that the painting would be sold for anywhere from $120,000 to $180,000. However, the actual selling price turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. Despite AI-created art being commonly associated with unoriginal work and deepfakes, the “A.I. God” painting garnered a surprising 27 bids.

According to the auction house:

Today’s unprecedented auction price for an artwork created by a robot artist, breaking previous records, significantly underscores the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and the world of modern and contemporary art.

It’s worth noting that the humanoid robot, Ai-Da, offered some thoughts about the artwork it created using AI. To clarify, Ai-Da uses artificial intelligence to express itself. According to Ai-Da, the primary worth of its work lies in stimulating conversations about rapidly developing technologies. The portrait of Alan Turing, a pioneer in this field, encourages viewers to ponder the divine nature of AI and computing, and to think deeply about the ethical and societal repercussions of these technological advancements.

What is Ai-Da and its meaning to the future of artists?

$1M 'A.I. God' painting? Ultra-artistic humanoid robot creates uncanny artwork of British mathematician — representing "the struggles Turing warned we will face when it comes to managing AI"

AI-Da is the creative offspring of Aidan Meller. Notably, Meller is an expert in modern and contemporary art, collaborating extensively with a group of artificial intelligence experts hailing from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham, to bring this humanoid robot into being.

An AI-driven artisan robot comes up with creative concepts by engaging in discussions. This enables it to propose the creation of a visual depiction featuring the renowned British mathematician. Furthermore, it played a significant role in shaping the painting’s aesthetic, including its color palette, subject matter, mood, and texture, transforming these ideas into tangible reality.

As a researcher examining the intricate world of art and artificial intelligence, I find myself drawn to Meller’s interpretation of the somber tones and fragmented facial planes in the painting as a reflection of Alan Turing’s foresight regarding human-AI interactions. These elements, in my view, seem to echo some of the challenges we may encounter as we strive to coexist with AI, challenges that, according to the statistical model p(doom), could potentially lead to humanity’s demise with a 99.9% probability.

There’s growing worry about AI taking jobs away from humans, leading to unemployment, and transforming work into a pastime. Advanced AI-driven tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Midjourney are progressing rapidly, even reaching a level where they can create intricate designs for the built environment, potentially making professionals in this field obsolete.

On the other hand, there’s apprehension regarding the potential hostile takeover. For example, despite these tools demonstrating remarkable power in crafting complex structural designs in just moments, they struggle with basic tasks such as producing a simple white picture.

In another location, a contentious artist who emerged victorious in a painting competition held in Colorado asserts that he’s being financially disadvantaged by individuals who are destroying his AI-created artwork without approval or reimbursement. Interestingly, this same artist had earlier refused to apologize for winning the contest using an AI-generated submission, following complaints from his fellow contenders. “I won, and I didn’t violate any rules. This isn’t going to change. Art, as we knew it, is extinct, man. It’s finished. AI has triumphed. Humans have lost.

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2024-11-08 21:09