Humanoid AI robot becomes first to launch its own art exhibition
Image credit: pa
The first exhibition featuring art made entirely by an AI robot is set to open at Oxford University.
The artist in question is a humanoid AI robot called Ai-Da after the mathematician Ada Lovelace and can draw independently using a robotic arm and an inbuilt camera.
Ai-Da is capable of sketching a portrait by sight, it can compose “hauntingly beautiful” conceptual paintings which are supposedly rich with political meaning and can even create sculptures.
Other attempts at combining AI and art have been made in the past, such as the Vincent AI which can apply stylistic techniques employed by famous artists to basic hand-drawn sketches.
However, Ai-Da is said to be the first ultra-realistic robot capable of drawing people from life using her eye and a pencil in her hand, according to its creators.
Ai-Da’s solo exhibition, ‘Unsecured Futures’, which opens at Oxford University from June 12, will showcase a selection of the robot’s work, developed using AI processes and algorithms at the university.
The artwork will include drawing, painting, sculpture and video art, exploring the boundaries between AI, technology and organic life.
“Pioneering a new AI art movement, we are excited to present Ai-Da, the first professional humanoid artist, who creates her own art as well as being a performance artist,” said Aidan Meller, Ai-Da’s brainchild and gallery owner.
“As an AI robot, her artwork uses AI processes and algorithms. The work engages us to think about AI and technological uses and abuses in the world today.”
Engineers in Leeds developed the robotic hand used by Ai-Da, which follows a number of stages and AI algorithms, calculating a virtual path based on what it sees in front of it and interpreting co-ordinates to create the piece of art.
“We are looking forward to the conversation Ai-Da sparks in audiences,” said Lucy Seal, researcher and curator for the project. “A measure of her artistic potential and success will be the discussion she inspires.
“Engaging people so we feel empowered to re-imagine our attitudes to organic life and our futures is a major aim of the project.”
E&T recently visited the Barbican’s AI - More Than Human exhibition which looks at the roots of AI, as well as how the technology is changing the modern world.
Sign up to the E&T News e-mail to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.
