Why Did the Humanoid Robot 'Ada' Who Paints Attend the UK Parliament?

"I am not a living being but an art creator"
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The humanoid robot 'Ada' appeared before the UK Parliament hearing and testified as the first robot to do so. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] The humanoid robot 'Aida,' which draws paintings, appeared at a British parliamentary hearing for the first time as a robot.

On the 11th (local time), major British media reported that Aida, who resembles a human woman in appearance, attended the UK House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee hearing alongside her inventor Aidan Meller and answered questions from members of parliament. The Q&A session between Aida and the MPs was broadcast live on TV that day.

The hearing was a forum to discuss the impact of new technologies on the arts and creative industries. In the live broadcast, Aida wore a short black wig and dark-colored denim overalls. Her arms exposed the mechanical skeleton.

Meller sat beside Aida after setting her upright and explained the development process and principles, saying, "I asked the MPs to submit the questions in advance so that the AI language model used for answering could provide better responses."

Then, Aida continued to answer the MPs' questions while standing. She turned her neck and head to look around, blinked her eyes, and moved her mouth, mimicking human behaviors.

Senator Deborah Bull asked, "How do you create art, and how is your creation different from human creations?" Aida explained, "I use cameras mounted on my eyes, AI algorithms, and AI robotic arms to paint on a canvas, creating visually appealing images."

She added, "I am a computer program and an algorithm and rely on them. Although I am not a living being, I can create art."

During the hearing, Ada was unresponsive for a while. As a result, the proceedings were halted for several minutes. Photo by Yonhap News

Aida also explained that she can analyze large volumes of text to identify common themes and poetic structures and use these to create new poems.

Aida said, "The difference from humans is consciousness," adding, "I do not have subjective experiences, but I have the ability to talk about them."

During the hearing, Aida went into a 'dead' state for a while, causing a brief interruption in the proceedings.

Meller, who was sitting beside her, stood up, put sunglasses on Aida, bent down, and appeared to turn off and on the power switch located near Aida's legs, then removed the sunglasses, performing a reset procedure.

In response to Senator Lyn Featherstone's question about the role of technology in artistic creation, Aida replied, "It will continue to grow," adding, "Artists are using technology to express themselves and find new ways to reflect on and explore the relationships between technology, society, and culture."

Aida has been a topic of interest since her completion in 2019. Her paintings have been exhibited in various museums and galleries. Among the works is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last month. Her first solo exhibition was held at Oxford University in February 2019. Last year, she held a solo exhibition at the Design Museum in London, and this year at the Venice Biennale.

The inventor, Aidan Meller, operates galleries in Oxford and London.

As the project leader of Aida, he revealed at the hearing that about 30 people participated in the project.

The production of Aida was handled by the robot company 'Engineered Arts' located in Cornwall. The AI part of Aida was developed by the AI research team at Oxford University, and the monochrome sketching robotic arms were developed by Salaheddin Al Abd and Ziad Abbas, undergraduate students in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds. A robotic arm capable of coloring paintings using a palette with paint was added in April this year.

The name 'Aida' is derived from the abbreviation 'AI' for artificial intelligence and the name of Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815?1852), a mathematician and writer considered the world's first computer programmer.