First Auction of AI Robot-Drawn Painting... Estimated Price in Billions

AI Robot Aida's Portrait of Alan Turing
First Appearance at This Month's London Sotheby's Auction

Artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robot (human-shaped robot) created artwork will appear for the first time at a Sotheby's auction in London. The industry predicts that the winning bid will exceed hundreds of millions of won.

Humanoid robot artist 'Ai-Da' posing in front of a painting she created
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

On the 24th (local time), the US CNN reported that the AI robot ‘Ai-Da,’ developed by British gallery operator Aidan Meller, will be auctioned at Sotheby's at the end of this month. Ai-Da, operated using AI algorithms, is a robot with the face of a human woman wearing large eyes and a brown wig, equipped with camera eyes and a bioengineered hand. It draws pictures using the cameras installed in its eyes and its robotic arm.

The artwork is titled ‘A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024).’ It depicts Alan Turing, a British genius mathematician who is also called the father of computers or the father of AI. The piece was previously exhibited at the ‘AI for Good Global Summit 2024’ held in Geneva, Switzerland. The auction is expected to take place between $120,000 (approximately 170 million won) and $180,000 (approximately 250 million won).

In an interview with CNN, Ai-Da said the core value of the artwork she created is “the ability to serve as a conversation about emerging technology.”

Meller said that the “main subject, Alan Turing, sparked fears about the power of AI from the early 1950s by decoding World War II codes,” and that this work “raises questions about where the power of AI will lead us.”

Meller also stated that a portion of the proceeds from Ai-Da’s artwork will be reinvested in the Ai-Da project.