Ai-Da's AI God portrait of Alan Turing sells for $1.124M at Sotheby's
The humanoid robot Ai-Da created the painting AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024), which sold at Sotheby's for $1,124,000, far exceeding its estimate of $120,000–180,000. The 2-meter-tall artwork pays homage to Alan Turing, the mathematician and AI pioneer who cracked the Nazi Enigma code. Ai-Da, built in 2019 by a team led by gallerist Aidan Meller and AI specialists from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham, uses cameras in its eyes and a robotic arm to draw and paint. The work debuted at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva at the United Nations in early 2024 as part of a five-panel polyptych that also included portraits of Ada Lovelace and a self-portrait. Ai-Da's visual style draws inspiration from Pablo Picasso, Doris Salcedo, Käthe Kollwitz, Edvard Munch, and the dystopian narratives of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. The sale places Ai-Da alongside celebrated artists and raises questions about the definition of art, the role of human input, and the ethical implications of AI in society.
Key facts
- Ai-Da's painting AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing sold at Sotheby's for $1,124,000.
- The estimate was $120,000–$180,000.
- The artwork is over 2 meters tall.
- Ai-Da is a humanoid robot artist created in 2019.
- Ai-Da was built by a team led by Aidan Meller with AI specialists from Oxford and Birmingham universities.
- The painting was exhibited at the UN's AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva in early 2024.
- The polyptych included portraits of Ada Lovelace and a self-portrait.
- Ai-Da's style references Picasso, Salcedo, Kollwitz, Munch, Orwell, and Huxley.
Entities
Artists
- Ai-Da
- Alan Turing
- Ada Lovelace
- Pablo Picasso
- Doris Salcedo
- Käthe Kollwitz
- Edvard Munch
- George Orwell
- Aldous Huxley
- Donna Haraway
- Aidan Meller
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Ai-Da Robot Studio
- University of Oxford
- University of Birmingham
- United Nations
Locations
- Geneva
- Switzerland