ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Ai-Da robot's 'artist-like' painting claim scrutinized through historical and philosophical lenses

opinion-review · 2026-04-20

At the Venice Biennale, Ai-Da, a robot inspired by Ada Lovelace and developed by Aidan Meller, was hailed as "the first robot to paint like an artist." Meller posits that the real question is not whether robots can produce art, but rather if humans desire them to do so. Using cameras and brushes, Ai-Da creates paintings based on observation, sparking discussions on the definition of painting "like an artist," in contrast to AI art applications such as Wombo. Historical references include the 18th-century Mechanical Turk, which illustrates technology's deceptive appearance of independence. The dialogue also invokes Walter Benjamin's 1940 Theses and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's 1945 essay. Ultimately, the argument suggests that AI remains a tool reliant on human creativity and lacks philosophical insight. ArtReview previously featured Ai-Da's exhibition at the Design Museum in London in 2021.

Key facts

  • Ai-Da is a robot created by Aidan Meller and named after Ada Lovelace
  • The robot was described as 'the first robot to paint like an artist' in 2022
  • Ai-Da appeared at the Venice Biennale
  • The robot uses cameras to observe subjects and a brush to paint
  • Creator Aidan Meller calls Ai-Da an 'ethical project' commenting on technological change
  • ArtReview covered Ai-Da's 2021 appearance at London's Design Museum
  • The discussion references Walter Benjamin's Theses on the Philosophy of History (1940)
  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty's 1945 essay 'Cézanne's Doubt' is cited
  • The Mechanical Turk chess automaton from the Napoleonic era is mentioned as a historical parallel
  • Comparisons are made between Adolf Hitler and Egon Schiele's artistic approaches
  • AI art app Wombo is referenced as contrast to Ai-Da's physical painting
  • The Vienna Academy of Fine Arts rejected Hitler while accepting Schiele
  • Paul Cézanne's philosophical approach to painting is discussed as exemplary of artistic vision

Entities

Artists

  • Ada Lovelace
  • Aidan Meller
  • Imogen West-Knights
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Egon Schiele
  • Paul Cézanne
  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty
  • Walter Benjamin

Institutions

  • Venice Biennale
  • ArtReview
  • Design Museum
  • Vienna Academy of Fine Arts
  • Wombo

Locations

  • Venice
  • Italy
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Vienna
  • Austria

Sources