Ai-Da is more than simply a robot and an artist. Her makers refer to her as “the first ultra-realistic humanoid artist,” and her brilliance is apparent.
The aim for Ai-developers, da’s though, isn’t to have created an incredibly skilled robotic artist. They want to start a discussion about how far we as a society are prepared to go in developing robots and how we want to engage with them.
Ai-Da, who debuted in 2019, is a poet, painter, and sculpture. She has robotic arms as well as a very lifelike face, replete with blinking eyes that survey the room.
In reality, the cameras in her eyes, together with her AI system, are what enable her to generate her drawings and self-portraits. The subject is targeted by Ai-camera Da’s eyes, and AI algorithms urge Aida to interrogate, pick, decide, and, eventually, produce a painting. While she has yet to create fully unique pieces of art, her five-hour technique from start to finish assures that no two paintings are precisely the same.
However, there is a quandary in the art world: can Ai-inventions Da’s be deemed art? Can someone be called an artist if she can only take inspiration from what already exists?
It also raises another issue for which there is no clear solution. Is it possible for human artists to create really unique works of art when we take inspiration from and pay respect to other artists and their works – purposefully or unintentionally? It’s a moral experiment meant to make us think about the consequences of introducing a new kind of technology into our culture.