Obvious

2018: The portrait written by artificial intelligence is sold for $433 thousand.

In October, 2018 at Christie's auction in New York sold the picture painted by artificial intelligence. From the Bellamy's Family series which is created on the basis of cloths of the famous painters paid $432.5 thousand at the original price of lot of $7-10 thousand for "Edmond Bellamy's Portrait". About it it is spoken on the website auction at home.

The algorithm which created a picture is trained on 15 thousand pictures which were painted during the period between the 14th and 20th centuries. The technology was developed by collective from three 25-year-old students from France under the name Obvious. The name of the buyer is not reported.

The picture "Edmond Bellamy's Portrait" created by artificial intelligence

On the portrait placed in a gilded frame the gentleman, perhaps, the Frenchman is represented. Judging by its dark frock coat and a white collar, it is related to church. Work looks incomplete: features are a little indistinct, and some areas of a canvas are empty, said in the description of a picture.

As one of participants of the Obvious art group Hugo Cazel-Dupre told, the algorithm of creation of portraits represents interaction of the so-called generator and the discriminator.

The purpose — to force the discriminator to think that new images are these portraits. In that case we also have result — told in Obvious.

One part of an algorithm analyzes initial data and creates own images on their basis. The second — tries to detect a difference between the works created by people, and artificially generated by pictures. If the second part cannot find distinction, it is considered that the result of work of the first part is rather good.

The artificial intelligence will have an impact on the market of works of art in the future though for the present it is not clear how considerable will be this influence, - Richard Lloyd from Chrisitie's who organized this sale said.

It is noted that "Edmond Bellamy's Portrait" became the first work of art created using artificial intelligence which the auction house of Christie's sold for the 252-year history.^[1]

Robotics

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