An artwork created by an artificial intelligence robot was sold at auction for over a million dollars.

A work created by an AI-powered robot, depicting British computer scientist and codebreaker Alan Turing, has reached a figure of $1.08 million at auction. This remarkable amount sets a new record for a piece of art created by a humanoid robot, likely sparking intense debate about the impact of AI on art and its creative process. The painting of Turing was produced by Ai-Da, an artistic robot introduced in 2019 by Aidan Meller, who described it as "the first ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist."

Sotheby’s auctioned the piece titled "AI God: Portrait of Alan Turing" last Friday, and while it was estimated to reach a maximum of $180,000, bids soared, culminating in an anonymous purchase for over a million dollars. Ai-Da, whose name pays tribute to Ada Lovelace, recognized as the first programmer in history, generates ideas through verbal interactions with its creators. On this occasion, it suggested creating a portrait of Turing during a dialogue about the theme of “AI for good.”

The robot chose the style, colors, content, tone, and texture of the painting before processing the image of Turing as part of its preparation. Using a robotic hand, Ai-Da can work on a relatively small canvas, and the final image was later enlarged with a printer. Alan Turing made significant contributions to computing, cryptography, and machine learning, particularly known for his role in breaking the Enigma code during World War II and for formulating the concept of the Turing machine, the foundation of modern computing and AI.

According to Sotheby’s, "AI God goes beyond a mere homage and reflects on Turing's profound question: ‘Can machines think?’. This question is fundamental to the existence of Ai-Da, who embodies Turing's vision of machine intelligence capable of simulating human thought." The portrait of Turing is also described as a "symbolic reflection on the blurring line between human capabilities and those of machines, particularly as it itself is the product of AI algorithms that enable it to draw, paint, and perform."

The auction house highlighted that, in creating this image, Ai-Da pays tribute to Turing as a "god" of AI, a figure whose ideas allowed machines like her to enter domains traditionally reserved for human creativity. Furthermore, the sale of the work places Ai-Da's art alongside that of renowned artists, marking a shift where machines are now part of the creative process. "Ai-Da's art, therefore, invites viewers to reflect on both the promises and potential dangers of AI, a contemplation of how technology can shape and even redefine human agency and creativity," it concludes. "Her art compels us to confront the evolving definition of what it means to create, think, and be, as AI increasingly integrates into society."