First Painting Created by Humanoid Robot and Sold for Auction Clears Over $1 Million

Who would want a painting made by a robot? I’m not sure, but whoever they are, they just spent an insane amount of money to buy it.

“AI God,” is a painting that depicts famed cryptanalyst Alan Turing, and it was created by Ai-Da, who is described on her website as being an “ultra-realistic robot artist.” The work, which was sold at Sotheby’s auction house in New York for over a million dollars this week, looks like this:

Ai-Da's alan turing painting makes history as first work sold by humanoid robot at @Sothebys https://t.co/GpVYt5tiBg pic.twitter.com/3KyqTXIVqJ

— designboom (@designboom) November 8, 2024

The Art Newspaper writes that after 27 bids, the lucky winner walked away with the painting, having forked over more than a million dollars.

You might find yourself wondering how it’s even possible that a robot can make a painting. Ai-Da’s website states that she is “capable of [both] drawing and painting using cameras in her eyes, AI algorithms, and her robotic arm.”

Ai-Da, herself, is the work of Aidan Meller, who describes himself as a “specialist in modern and contemporary art.” Meller has said that he created Ai-Da in an effort to inspire a dialogue about “the current obsession with technology and its unfolding legacy.” It’s unclear who is going to keep the profits from the “AI God” sale, Ai-Da or Meller.

Sotheby’s auction house released a statement, here quoted by Barron’s, that acknowledged the sale: “Today’s record-breaking sale price for the first artwork by a humanoid robot artist to go up for auction marks a moment in the history of modern and contemporary art and reflects the growing intersection between A.I. technology and the global art market.”

“Ai-Da’s portrayal of Turing not only honors his legacy but also explores the broader, transformative impact of technology on human identity, creativity, and agency, making her work a significant milestone in both art and AI,” Sotheby’s website states. Earlier this year, Ai-Da exhibited AI God as “part of a five-paneled polyptych at the United Nations” during a Geneva summit dubbed “AI for Good.”

After the sale of the piece, Ai-Da was quoted by Barron’s as saying: “The key value of my work is its capacity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about emerging technologies.”

All of this sort of begs the question: What is this for? Are people actually interested in buying paintings “made” by robots? If so, why? Personally, I have struggled to understand the appeal of “art” generated via software and hardware. While the entire thing can’t help but feel like a weird grift or opaque PR for the broader AI industry.