Artwork by Humanoid Robot Sells For $1.08 Million - 1

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Artwork by Humanoid Robot Sells For $1.08 Million

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • The artwork surpassed pre-sale expectations, with 27 bids placed.
  • Ai-Da, an AI-powered humanoid robot, created the portrait.
  • Turing’s portrait explores AI’s ethical implications and God-like nature.

A portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing has made history as the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction, fetching US$1.08 million (£566,000, A$1.63 million) at Sotheby’s in New York on Thursday, as reported by The Guardian .

The 2.2-meter (7.5 feet) portrait, was part of a series titled A.I. God. The artwork, titled Portrait of Alan Turing , was created by Ai-Da , the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist, as noted by The Guardian.

Ai-Da, who uses AI to communicate, said, ‘’I create art to encourage discussions over new technologies.’’

Turing, a key figure in the development of computing and a codebreaker during World War II, expressed concerns about AI in the 1950s, a theme Ai-Da’s portrait subtly explores, as noted in The Guardian.

Ai-Da said, “The key value of my work is its capacity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue about emerging technologies.” The robot further explained that the portrait of Turing invites viewers to reflect on AI’s “God-like nature” and its ethical and societal implications, as noted by The Guardian.

Interestingly, the artwork surpassed pre-sale expectations of $120,000 to $180,000, attracting 27 bids in total, said The Guardian.

Sotheby’s hailed the sale as a landmark moment for the intersection of artificial intelligence and the global art market.

“Today’s record-breaking sale price for the first artwork by a humanoid robot artist to go up for auction marks a moment in the history of modern and contemporary art,” the auction house stated, as reported by The Guardian.

Ai-Da was developed by Aidan Meller, a modern art specialist, and a team of AI experts from Oxford and Birmingham universities, as reported by The Guardian.

Meller, who guided Ai-Da’s creative process, noted that the robot’s artwork—stated “This auction is an important moment for the visual arts, where Ai-Da’s artwork brings focus on artworld and societal changes, as we grapple with the rising age of AI,” as reported by ARTnews .

“The artwork ‘AI God’ raises questions about agency, as AI gains more power,” he added.

Ai-Da, who draws inspiration from conversation rather than imagination, responded to the Guardian in 2022 , “I like to paint what I see. I have been seeing different things to humans as I do not have consciousness.”

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Google Rolls Out AI Video Tool “Vids” For Workspace Business - 2

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Google Rolls Out AI Video Tool “Vids” For Workspace Business

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Google Vids began rolling out gradually for users with certain work, school, and personal memberships
  • The new tool is powered by Gemini and includes multiple features to help users create different kinds of videos
  • Google included a stock library with videos, audio, music, GIFs, and stickers

Google began rolling out its AI video tool Google Vids for selected Google Workspace members. Users with access to the paid work, school, and personal accounts selected and listed by the company can now test the new Gemini-powered feature announced in April.

However, the tech giant warned that not every user will have access right away. “Access to Google Vids is rolling out and it may not be available to you yet,” states a document about Vids availability shared by the company.

Alice Keeler, a Google-certified innovator, shared on the social media platform X that it might take up to two weeks for certain users to get access to the new feature.

Vids is live on the school account today! You can make videos right from Google Drive. Note: it is a slow rollout it might take 2 weeks if you don’t have it yet. #GoogleEDU #GoogleVids pic.twitter.com/U34zq6Q0dw — Alice Keeler (@alicekeeler) November 8, 2024

Users with access can use the “help me create” feature to write a prompt for Gemini and begin the creation of the video. Google shared multiple templates for easy and ready-to-go designs, that can also include documents from Drive.

The platform also has a library with stock content so that video creators can add music, stickers, GIFs, videos, and sound effects.

Google added a recording studio feature to help users record videos and include them or make them part of the creation. Although only available in English, people can also use the read-along teleprompter tool to record the videos.

Multiple users can interact and collaborate in real-time and share the videos after downloading them in MP4 format.

This new feature comes only weeks after Google announced Audio Overview to help users create AI-generated podcasts from their notes on NotebookLM.