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During her long reign Queen Elizabeth has been the subject of scores of portraits – but this is the first one to be created by a robot.
The fascinating painting, titled Algorithm Queen, was painted by a robot named Ai-Da which is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI).
The artistic robot, which was built in 2019, draws, paints and creates sculptures.
In the portrait, the British monarch is seen wearing a blue dress, a feathered hat and a pearl necklace.
To create a painting, Ai-Da, named after English mathematician Ada Lovelace, uses the cameras in its eyes to draw on its memory and converts data into paintings using its robotic arm.
In the case of the 96-year-old monarch’s portrait, Ai-Da layered and scaled the painting to create a multi-dimensional effect. It also aimed to reflect the various technological changes that have taken place over the queen’s 70-year reign.
In addition, the robot, which is also able to chat, praised the queen for being committed to serving the public.
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“I’d like to thank Her Majesty the queen for her dedication, and for the service she gives to so many people,” Ai-Da said.
“She's an outstanding, courageous woman who's utterly committed to public service. I think she’s an amazing human being, and I wish the queen a very happy platinum jubilee.”
Ai-Da was created by Oxford’s Aidan Meller, a specialist in modern and contemporary art, and built in Cornwall by Engineered Arts, a humanoid entertainment robot company.
The robot's capabilities were also developed by PhD students and professors at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.
“Thank you to the queen for her 70 years of service. We're excited Ai-Da Robot has made history just in time for the queen's jubilee,” Aidan said.
“We're in unprecedented technological times, and so we're pleased we can take a moment to think about all that's changed during the queen's life.
“Algorithm Queen by Ai-Da Robot gives us a marker of how far things have come in her life and it's a great way to acknowledge her faithful service.”
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The portrait will be exhibited in London later this year and can be viewed on Ai-Da's website.
Ai-Da was the first robot artist to exhibit at the 2022 Venice Biennale, a prestigious international exhibition featuring visual arts, architecture, film, music, dance and theatre.
“This is an important moment for AI art. Ai-Da’s works raise questions about whether robots can genuinely be creative,” Priya Khanchandani, head of curatorial at the Design Museum in London, said at the time.
“When you see a robot, you don't expect them to be creative," Aidan adds.
“You expect them just to be following a program but the way the algorithms are put together now, we're fundamentally looking at creativity.”
Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Metro, The National News UK, CGTN
