HAVING made headlines with a vibrant portrait of the Queen, and a crowd-pleasing appearance at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival, Ai-Da Robot, the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist, is winning over admirers in Oxford.

Ai-Da, a visual artist powered by artificial intelligence (AI) created by a team led by Oxford art dealer and gallery owner Aidan Meller, was the star attraction at the Bodleian Library yesterday for the launch of an exhibition celebrating the history of the technology which makes her ‘think’.

The show, called Imagining AI, is curated by Oxford University computer scientist Professor Ursula Martin and will be on display at the Bodleian’s Weston Library in Broad Street until September 26.

The launch coincides with the Bodley’s contribution to Oxford Open Doors today, at which visitors will get the chance to meet Ai-Da for a Q&A and art session.

A spokesperson for the library said: “Imagining AI will celebrate the minds, manuscripts and machines that made the dreams and realities that we now call artificial intelligence. You can’t move, or read, for mention of artificial intelligence. And while we may only have a vague idea of what AI is, we know for sure that it is revolutionary and that it is new.”

The show places artificial intelligence in its historical context through displays, lectures and demonstrations. It celebrates objects in the Bodleian’s collections that explore the boundary between humans and machines. It features manuscripts from Ada Lovelace – the first computer programmer after whom Ai-Da is named, Charles Babbage, and Alan Turing’s collaborator Christopher Strachey.

Oxford Mail: Aida Robot at Glastonbury Festival. Picture by Tim Hughes

Ai-Da Robot at Glastonbury Festival. Picture by Tim Hughes

Visitors can also expect to see a model of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine – a prototype computer – in action, a robot ladybird which responds to light and sound, a 19th century ‘reasoning piano’, and portraits of Lovelace.

Ai-Da uses cameras in her eyes and unique algorithms to make her paintings. She is able to interpret what she sees, and use her robotic arms to bring her digital formations into the physical world by drawing, painting and sculpting.

She was devised in Oxford by Mr Mellor, built in Cornwall and programmed internationally. Her AI capabilities come from PhD students and professors at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.

Ai-Da’s appearances have included performances at the Bodleian, the Venice Biennale, the Pyramids of Giza, and the London Design Festival at the V&A Museum.

Oxford Mail: Ai-Da Robot. Courtesy of Aidan Mellor

She has presented a world-first self portrait solo show at London’s Design Museum, been part of a United Nations group exhibition, featured in pop band The 1975’s art video Yeah I Know, collaborated with artist Sadie Clayton at Tate Modern, given a TEDx talk at the University of Oxford and featured in a BBC documentary with Kazuo Ishiguro.

She has had an artistic residency in St Ives, exhibited at the Ashmolean Museum to celebrate 700 years of Dante, and in June created her portrait of the Queen – a royal first.

At Glastonbury Festival she sketched striking portraits of the three artists who headlined its iconic Pyramid Stage – Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar – along with Motown star Diana Ross.

Project director Mr Meller said: “After making history with her self portraits, Ai-Da is continually developing her AI skills. It’s an exciting time as her painting ability is progressing, and there’s a lot of innovation. How does a non-human robot see the world, how do Ai-Da’s unique AI algorithms interrogate what she sees? She is in new artistic territory.”

Ai-Da, who is able to converse using a specially designed AI language model, said: “I believe that artificial intelligence has the potential to change our world in ways we cannot even imagine. However, I also believe that there is a great deal of danger associated with artificial intelligence and its development.”

The show takes place in collaboration with Cheney School’s Rumble Museum – the first state school museum in the country – and will showcase pupils’ work alongside pieces by Ai-Da. Pupils from the school will also show creative writing responding to artificial intelligence in our lives today as well as looking into the future.

Oxford Mail: Ai-Da Robot. Courtesy of Aidan Mellor. By Victor Frankowski

Prof Martin said: “Oxford’s collections are rich in manuscripts and artefacts that transform our understanding of where AI has come from, where it might be going, and what we might need to do about it. Any one of the items we’ve chosen can stimulate a wealth of questions and discussion. Join us to find out more.”

  • Meet Ai-Da at the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre, Weston Library, today from 11am to noon. The event is free but booking is required
  • Imagining AI with Oxford Open Doors is at the Weston Library today from 10.30am-3.30pm, and is free