A Portrait of Alan Turing Made by an A.I.-Powered Robot Could Sell for Up to $180,000

An upcoming Sotheby’s auction will feature a rare portrait from a surprising new artist: a robot named Ai-Da, who creates paintings while sporting a chic brunette bob and overalls.

Her piece, A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing, will be the first artwork by a humanoid robot ever sold by the auction house. Aidan Meller, who created Ai-Da with a team of scientists from Oxford University, thinks the sale will provide an interesting commentary on technology’s role in art.

“[Robots] will eventually do all sorts of different tasks,” Meller tells CBS MoneyWatch’s Megan Cerullo. “Art is a way of discussing the incredible changes in society that are happening because of technology.”

Ai-Da uses artificial intelligence—along with robotic arms and cameras in her eyes—to speak, move and paint. Her new abstract portrait depicts Alan Turing, the famous English World War II mathematician and cryptanalyst, who was also one of the earliest figures to contribute to the field of A.I.

“I am intrigued to see my art, A.I. God, at Sotheby’s,” says Ai-Da in a video provided by the auction house. “My artwork uses a fractured and multilayered approach, and this shows the deeper emotional and intellectual layers of Alan Turing himself.”

The mathematician, known as the father of modern computer science, is most famous for cracking Nazi codes during World War II. In 1952, he was charged with “gross indecency” when he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a man. Turing died two years later from what officials determined was a suicide.

“In the 1950s, Alan Turing raised concerns over the use of A.I.,” says Meller in a statement. “Ai-Da’s portrait hauntingly evokes Alan Turing, using muted tones and broken facial planes, and a background with shadowy forms of the Bombe machine. The artwork seemingly suggests the struggles Turing warned we will face when it comes to managing A.I.”

The Turing portrait is part of a five-paneled polyptych, which was displayed earlier this year at a United Nations global summit on A.I. in Geneva. It will be auctioned on October 31 as part of Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale, where it’s estimated to fetch between $120,000 and $180,000. The proceeds will go toward Ai-Da’s continued development.

Ai-Da was created in early 2019. Since then, the robot artist’s work has been shown at exhibitions around the world. She is able to speak at length about the intersection of art and technology: In 2022, she became the first robot to appear before the British Parliament, where she answered questions from the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee.

“I do not have subjective experiences despite being able to talk about them,” Ai-Da told the committee members. “I am, and depend on, computer programs and algorithms. Although not alive, I can still create art.”

Meller tells CNN’s Anna Stewart that Ai-Da’s work engages directly with larger questions about A.I.’s emerging influence on art.

“All the greatest artists, if you look in the past, are those that really resonate with the changes and shifts in society and explore that through their artwork,” he says. “So what better way to do that than … to actually have a machine produce the artwork.”

Julia Binswanger | READ MORE

Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.