Ai-Da's AI Painting Sells for Over €1 Million at Sotheby's
On November 8, 2024, Sotheby's auctioned the first artwork created by a humanoid AI robot, Ai-Da, titled 'AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing', for over €1 million. The sale raises copyright questions as the work may lack copyright protection, being AI-generated. The European AI Act, approved March 13, 2024, requires AI providers to comply with copyright law, including the text and data mining exception under Directive 2019/790, which allows rights holders to opt out. Current law does not grant AI legal personality, so copyright only applies when human contribution is creative and significant. An Italian bill proposed April 23, 2024, would extend copyright to AI-assisted works with demonstrable human input. Internationally, cases like Getty Images v. Stability AI and New York Times v. OpenAI explore these issues. A Chinese case, Li v. Liu, held AI-generated works can be copyrighted if human intervention is predominant. Ai-Da's creator stated the robot aims to inspire reflection on positive AI use, not replace human artists. The Italian bill also mandates AI-generated content be marked with 'IA'.
Key facts
- Ai-Da's painting 'AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing' sold for over €1 million at Sotheby's on November 8, 2024.
- The work is the first by a humanoid AI robot to be auctioned.
- The European AI Act was approved on March 13, 2024, and published July 12, 2024.
- The AI Act requires AI providers to respect copyright, including the text and data mining exception under Directive 2019/790.
- Rights holders can opt out of text and data mining under Article 4(3) of Directive 2019/790.
- Current law does not recognize AI as a legal person capable of holding copyright.
- An Italian bill proposed on April 23, 2024, would protect AI-assisted works with demonstrable human creativity.
- The Italian bill also requires AI-generated content to be marked with 'IA'.
- International cases: Getty Images v. Stability AI, New York Times v. OpenAI, and Li v. Liu (China).
- In Li v. Liu, a Chinese court held AI-generated works can be copyrighted if human intervention is predominant.
- Ai-Da's creator stated the robot aims to inspire reflection on positive AI use, not replace human artists.
Entities
Artists
- Ai-Da
- Alan Turing
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- European Parliament
- European Union
- Getty Images
- Stability AI
- New York Times
- OpenAI
- Artribune
Locations
- Italy
- Europe
- China