Sotheby’s is used to making headlines, having been amongst the top auction houses to sell rare works of art since its founding in 1744. On Halloween, the London-founded company will tick another milestone off as it auctions the first ever artwork made by a robot.
A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024) was created by Ai-Da, a humanoid robot built by British gallery owner Aidan Meller. Clad in a black bob, navy top and black denim overalls, Ai-Da utilizes human inputs and artificial intelligence to do a variety of daily functions — from drawing and writing to even giving a TED talk. “Extraordinarily complex,” wrote Meller, “our online worlds are pushed and pulled by forces and personalities that are sometimes apparent but largely oblique. Ai-Da, the machine with AI capacities, highlights those tensions: bringing to the forefront the complexity of our interacting digital and physical worlds and the masked identities we can assume in them.”
Measuring 60 x 90 inches, Ai-Da’s mixed-media creation features a swirling, almost Impressionistic depiction of British computer scientist Alan Turing and comes with an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000 USD. “There may be limited public record to assess the market for singular works like A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing by Ai-Da, but after extensive conversations with prominent collectors at the intersection of art and technology—particularly in the realm of AI—it became clear that demand for this piece is strong,” Sotheby’s vice president and head of digital art Michael Bouhanna told ARTnews.
“The enthusiasm and interest from these collectors, combined with their conviction in the importance of this work within the AI art space, directly influenced my decision to position the pre-sale estimate at a level that reflects its anticipated desirability and market potential,” Bouhanna added.
Sotheby’s Digital Art Day Auction will commence on October 31 and will also include works by Refik Anadol, DesLucrece and more.
