Ai-Da's alan turing painting makes history as first work sold by humanoid robot at sotheby's

Sotheby’s auctions Ai-Da’s portrait of alan turing

Sotheby’s picks up the portrait of Alan Turing, the one that humanoid Ai-Da has painted on her own. Included in The Digital Art Day Auction between October 31st and November 7th, 2024, in New York City, Ai-Da’s painting was the first portrait to be auctioned from a humanoid robot. The house had expected it to fetch between 120,000 and 180,000 USD, and in the end, an undisclosed buyer acquired the painting for 1.320,000 USD, making it a record-breaking sale of its kind. The large-scale painting is an original by Ai-Da. It’s a chain of connection in a way because the humanoid robot’s AI and algorithms allow her to illustrate the father of modern computing on a large canvas.

Titled ‘A.I. God,’ it’s not the first appearance of the large-scale, mixed-media painting, which is sized 64 by 90.5 inches, or enough to tower over viewers. Back in May 2024, Ai-Da exhibited her portrait of Alan Turing at the United Nations in Geneva during the AI for Good Global Summit. It was part of a five-paneled polyptych, and two of them included a painting of Ada Lovelace and a self-portrait of the humanoid robot. Now, Ai-Da’s piece is part of a major auction house, and it may be the first time Sotheby’s enlists a humanoid robot artist and her work.

all images courtesy of Ai-Da

Humanoid robot artist paints using cameras, ai and algorithms

In case it’s not yet known, Ai-Da can talk. In fact, she comments about the recent Sotheby’s acquisition, saying that ‘by commemorating Alan Turing in my artwork, which was displayed at the United Nations, I aim to honour his contributions towards the foundation of modern computing and artificial intelligence.’ She adds that she has been inspired by Donna J. Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto. As a result, the humanoid robot artist has painted a portrait that she imagines can bring up discussion about the blurring edges between humans and machines. ‘I help bring these questions into focus,’ she says.

The humanoid robot and artist paints and draws using her cameras, AI, and algorithms. The latter two compel her arm to move and dab the brush to the canvas. Her artworks have been exhibited on several occasions, including a major one during the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2022. Her AI God portrait of Alan Turing at Sotheby’s is joined by other artists’ works such as Refik Anadol, PAK, Xcopy, DesLucrece, and more. The auction house says that the event on October 31st, 2024, is designed for both emerging and established collectors across the digital art movement.

The article was updated on November 8th, 2024 to reflect the news about the acquisition of the portrait.

Ai-Da paints a triptych of Ada Lovelace, herself and Alan Turing