When Robots Become Artists: Ai-Da’s Portrait of Alan Turing Blurs the Line Between Creator and Creation

Estimated between $120,000 and $180,000, A.I. God hammered in at Whopping $1,084,800.00

Sotheby’s, the ultra-glamorous art auction house where centuries-old paintings change hands for millions, just auctioned a portrait of Alan Turing — created by a robot. Yes, you read that right. The artist isn’t a reclusive painter, misunderstood genius, or tortured soul — it’s a literal robot named Ai-Da, who’s about as close to a real-life android as you can get without invoking Westworld vibes.

This isn’t just any robot either. Ai-Da’s creators designed her to be an artist, meaning she isn’t there to clean floors or recite facts like a glorified AI intern. She creates. Her brushstrokes are AI-generated, her expressions complex, her inspirations like a 20th-century artist mood board — think Picasso, Orwell, Ada Lovelace, with a sprinkle of dystopian unease. And now, she’s putting her creative clout to the ultimate test: making history by getting her work, A.I. God: Portrait of Alan Turing, auctioned off at Sotheby’s.

Let’s talk about Turing, the human brainiac whose vision pretty much birthed everything AI. He’s the reason your phone can play chess or your emails get sorted automatically. Ai-Da picked him as the “god” of AI (a pretty fitting choice) and created this portrait to ask a big question: “Can machines think?” Or, as she’s really…