Latest news with #AidanMeller
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
AI robot 'drills into biggest concerns of our time', Oxford creator says
The creator of the first ultra-realistic robot artist has said that working with a robot has evoked "lots of questions about the relationship we have with ourselves".The artificial intelligence (AI) robot Ai-Da has been devised in Oxford by Aidan Meller, a specialist in modern and contemporary art, and built in the UK by Engineered has been specifically designed as a humanoid to be able to do art and has recently unveiled a portrait of King Charles Meller said Ai-Da and her artwork "drills into some of the biggest concerns and thoughts of our time". Ai-Da has cameras in her eyes, which she uses to take thanks to AI algorithms, she is able to interrogate the image which goes through to her arm to be converted into real-time coordinates - that enables her to hold a paintbrush to paint and draw."You can meet her, you can talk to her using her language model and she's then able to paint and draw you from sight," Mr Meller said."People have got very much 1950s robots in their head - the reality is that actually they're very engaging."It's not until you look a robot in the eye and they say your name that the reality of this new sci-fi world that we are now currently in really takes hold." Ai-Da has been asked to produce and showcase work at the United Nations' AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, 2024, she did a triptych of Enigma code-breaking mathematician Alan Turing, which was sold for more than £1m at an year, she turned her focus onto King Charles III."With extraordinary strides that are taking place in technology and again, always questioning our relationship to the environment, we felt that King Charles was a really good subject," Mr Meller said that even though Ai-Da had not met the King, Buckingham Palace had authorized permission for the artwork to be asked how she chooses her subjects, Mr Meller said: "Uncannily, and rather nerve-wrackingly, we just ask her". "Ai-Da is connected to the internet [and] she's able to speak at length about different people because she has a great deal of data to hand. "It was through those conversations that the artwork is then able to be done."Ai-Da also painted a picture King Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II in 2023. Mr Meller said the biggest realisation from the six years working with Ai-Da was "not so much about how human she is but actually how robotic we are"."Working with a robot is throwing up lots of questions about the relationship we have actually with ourselves," he said."We hope that Ai-Da's artwork is able to be a provocation to have that discussion." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Digital Trends
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Humanoid robot paints remarkable portrait of British monarch
Painting a portrait of a British monarch is a coveted honor, with the tradition stretching back more than six centuries. And while that custom looks set to continue, there's a whiff of change in the air after a humanoid robot artist called Ai-Da created an impressive portrait of King Charles III. Recommended Videos Ai-Da created the artwork, called 'Algorithm King,' by skillfully painting with oil colors using her robotic arm. King Charles didn't sit for the portrait, with Ai-Da instead using photos of the monarch, as well as AI smarts, to produce the artwork. The painting was unveiled this week as part of the AI For Good Summit hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The Ai-Da humanoid robot — created by gallery director Aidan Meller, the robotics company Engineered Arts, and academics from the University of Oxford and the University of Leeds — was first shown off in 2019. Besides painting, she can also speak and have natural conversations. Walking is not currently a part of her feature set, however, so she has to be physically placed before a canvas before she can begin painting. 'It's a privilege to be part of this remarkable event at the United Nations, surrounded by those shaping the future of technology and culture,' Ai-Da said in comments reported by Sky News. 'Presenting my portrait of His Majesty King Charles III is not just a creative act, it's a statement about the evolving role of AI in our society, and to reflect on how artificial intelligence is shaping the cultural landscape.' The intersection of art and AI is indeed an increasingly controversial topic, and Ai-Da's latest effort is only going to increase the chatter around the issue. While artists are understandably upset about tech firms scraping their work to train AI models, Ai-Da appears to fall into a gray area in the sense that while it processed photos of King Charles to create its portrait, it doesn't appear that it included any bulk training of a general-purpose AI, similar to how AI giants like OpenAI and Google operate. Still, some will wonder about whether the photographers gave permission for Ai-Da to used their images, and if they did so, whether they were compensated in any way. We've reached out to Ai-Da's team and will update this article if we hear back. Ai-Da certainly appears to blur the line between human and machine creativity, and poses yet more questions about the nature of artistic expression and authorship. In 2020, Digital Trends chatted with Aidan Meller about his intriguing creation, including the moment that inspired him to get started with Ai-Da.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
King Charles III gets new AI portrait by robot artist Ai-Da
Kings, queens, princes and princesses throughout history have had their portraits painted by talented in a sign of our changing times, an artificial intelligence (AI) artist has unveiled a new portrait of King Charles painting, called Algorithm King, was created by the robot artist isn't her first portrait of a British also painted a picture King Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II in 2023, as well as the Enigma code-breaking mathematician Alan do you think of the picture? Let us know in the comments below. Who is the robot Ai-Da? Ai-Da was created in the UK in 2019 and is described as an "ultra-realistic artist robot", by one of her inventors Aidan has two robotic arms and cameras in her arms can be swapped around and replaced depending on what kind of art she is 2024, Ai-Da made history when she became the first humanoid robot to sell her painting of Alan Turing for $1,084,800 USD (around £835,000 at the time)."When creating my art, I use a variety of AI algorithms," the robot said."I start with a basic idea or concept that I want to explore, and I think about the purpose of the art. What will it say?" The portrait of King Charles was revealed as part of an AI for Good summit hosted by the United Nations in Meller, who manages the Ai-Da Robot Project, says there was a mixed reaction to the artwork."Some people are really excited by the way that this technology is transforming society, others are very fearful."Speaking at the summit, Ai-Da said that AI will not replace the work of human said it is up to humans to decide if her art is "important".What do you think? Let us know in the comments...
Sky News
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
The King and AI: A humanoid robot has painted a picture of Charles. How did it do?
Whether or not the UK will have a Royal Family in the future is something that often comes up in debate. If we do, the latest evidence suggests there will be no lack of artists around to paint them. A new portrait titled "Algorithm King" has perhaps offered a glimpse of how members of the Royal Family may be painted in the decades or even centuries ahead - after it was created by a female "robot artist" named Ai-Da. The artistic humanoid used advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and a robot arm using on oil canvas to create the painting of King Charles. Ai-Da, the first robot to ever paint the monarch, also used the cameras in her eyes to help create her machine-made masterpiece. The robot previously painted a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the monarch's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. The two portraits, which the monarchs didn't sit for, were exhibited together at an unveiling of the portrait of King Charles as part of the AI For Good Summit hosted by the United Nations in Geneva. Ai-Da, described as being the world's first "ultra-realistic robot artist", was created by UK art dealer Aidan Meller and built in Cornwall by Engineered Arts. She uses advanced AI language modelling to enable her to have a conversation with humans. Speaking at the UN, Ai-Da said: "It's a privilege to be part of this remarkable event at the United Nations, surrounded by those shaping the future of technology and culture. Presenting my portrait of His Majesty King Charles III is not just a creative act, it's a statement about the evolving role of AI in our society, and to reflect on how artificial intelligence is shaping the cultural landscape." Simon Manley, ambassador and permanent representative to the World Trade Organisation and UN in Geneva, said at the unveiling of the portrait: "Ai-Da is not just a technological marvel, she is a cultural conversation starter. We are proud to showcase British innovation at its most imaginative, and to reflect on how emerging technologies can shape global dialogues on art, ethics and identity." Ai-Da - named after the first computer programmer Ada Lovelace - has spoken at the House of Lords, Number 10 Downing Street and at the UN. Her artwork has been exhibited all over the world from the Tate Modern, V&A, Somerset House and the Design Museum in Britain to the Pyramids in Egypt and the Venice Biennale. She made history in 2024 when a painting by her sold at Sotheby's for $1m. Mr Meller said: "The greatest artists in history grappled with their period of time, and both celebrated and questioned society's shifts. Ai-Da Robot as technology, is the perfect artist today to discuss the current developments with technology and its unfolding legacy."
