Latest news with #AIart
CTV News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘It has become a big problem': Artists frustrated with increase in AI ‘art'
Local artists are upset that some are using AI to create art and selling it. With more, here's CTV London's Lauren Stallone. Emily Marie, a local artist and owner of 'Unstitched', spends hours making homemade crafts. Marie sells her creations at local craft shows, but lately she has been faced with an unusual challenge. 'It has become a big problem in a lot of markets,' said Marie. 'There are people coming in and passing off that they are making these crafts, not telling people they are AI.' Marie said vendors using AI should be honest and not claim their products as homemade. 'They're not considering the time, the energy, the thought that went into something like this,' said Maire. 'For people to just be plugging a prompt into AI and just basically discrediting our hard work it feels almost insulting.' Experts describe this as 'a big issue,' not only for visual art but also music, sounds, and text. Emily Marie Emily Marie, a local artist and owner of 'Unstitched,' as seen on July 22, 2025. (Lauren Stallone/CTV News London) 'How these systems work is that they are trained on a huge amount of data that's usually scraped from the internet–from artists who are out there, who are alive and trying to make money,' said Luke Stark, an assistant professor in the faculty of information and media studies at Western University. Stark argued these tools can be 'extremely disruptive' and it is important for consumers to understand who is behind them. 'You might feel like you get a little bit of benefit from using systems like Chatgpt to do x, y, and z at work, but then does that mean your job is at risk of being automated?' said Stark. 'With these tools, don't think about them as science fiction, think of them as automation tools benefiting someone in society and ask who that is.' While the future of AI may be unclear, Marie said her passion for sharing art with the community isn't going anywhere. 'I cannot tell you how amazing it feels to see somebody who looks and says, 'Oh my gosh that's so cute,'' said Marie. 'I thought that was cute and I love that other people think it's cute too.'
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Digital artwork of Lionel Messi's favorite goal sold for $1.87M to mystery buyer
A Goal in Life: Messi x Refik Anadol, the artwork created by world renowned artist Refik Anadol using artificial intelligence, and inspired by global soccer star Lionel Messi's favorite goal, was auctioned at Christie's for $1.87 million on Tuesday. The auction house has not disclosed the identity of the buyer. Advertisement All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Inter Miami Foundation, which plans to use the funds to support a variety of charitable initiatives. This includes a partnership with UNICEF aimed at enhancing education programs in Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. In an exclusive interview with The Athletic before the auction, Anadol expressed his hope the sculpture won't disappear into private hands. 'This isn't just a collaboration between two people, it's a dialogue between two disciplines,' he said. 'It's not artist meets artist; it's sport meets art. And that's what makes it so fresh and powerful.' Anadol spent several weeks creating this one of a kind digital art project using machine and AI to reconstruct Messi's most personal favorite goal in 3D, effectively bringing a 16-year-old memory into the present with technology that didn't exist in 2009. The goal itself was a masterpiece. In 2009, a 22-year-old Messi was playing for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona against Manchester United, facing his future arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, only weeks before the Portuguese star's move to Real Madrid that summer. In the 70th minute of the Champions League final in Rome's Stadio Olumpico, with Barcelona already up 1–0, Xavi Hernández floated a pinpoint cross into the box. Despite standing just 5 ft 7 in (1.65 meters) tall, Messi (nicknamed La Pulga, 'the Flea' in English for his small stature,) rose above the towering 6'2' Rio Ferdinand and met the ball with a perfectly timed header, sending it curling into the far corner of the net. He leapt so high his boot flew off, but it didn't matter. With arms outstretched and a grin of disbelief, Messi celebrated a goal that would go down in history. 'It's hard to choose just one, there have been so many,' Messi told the crew who interviewed him a few months ago in an interview that has not been shared with the public until now. 'That goal is my favorite,' he smiled. 'It was the most beautiful and unique, because it was a header, I jumped really high, which is rare for me,' he explained. Advertisement 'To see a work of art born from Messi's most cherished goal not only captivate thousands of visitors but also generate vital support for children's education across Latin America and the Caribbean is profoundly moving,' Ximena Caminos, the curator who facilitated the collaboration, said in a statement after the auction. 'This sale is a testament to the power of art, technology, and sport to create real-world impact. We hope this is just the beginning — that many more around the world will have the chance to experience this emotional, immersive journey into memory, movement, and meaning.' Anadol's work has been on display at Christie's New York in Rockefeller Center since July 12, coinciding with Christie's 10th Art+Tech Summit Over ten days, thousands of soccer fans, collectors and art lovers experienced the artwork in person according to Sebastian Sanchez, Christie's manager of digital sales. The bid started at $1.5million (£1.1m). This is not Anadol's first charity sale. Three years ago, Christie's sold another mutant digital sculpture he created inspired by Gaudí's Casa Batlló for $1,380,000. A few years later, in 2024 a collection of six shirts worn by Lionel Messi during the 2022 World Cup became the most expensive sports memorabilia sold that year after being bought at auction for $7.8million (£6.1m). In terms of the future of A Goal in Life, the public displays ended with the auction. The buyer of this one of a kind 20 feet by 12 feet digital art piece will be able to work with the artist's studio to install the piece wherever they choose, providing their own hardware.
CNET
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
How to Create Coloring Pages of Your Kids, Your Pets and Other Things They Love
TikTok is a treasure trove of ChatGPT trends. One of the latest viral sensations is creating a coloring book of your child with their favorite TV show. Who said artificial intelligence can't help get kids off screens and into art? This is a cool exercise for parents, teachers and relatives. You can use ChatGPT to create a personalized book, custom cartoons and cards. (You can even see what your future baby might look like and redesign rooms with AI.) Making personalized coloring pages for your little one is a great summer activity. This is a fun AI art project for parents, too. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) Turn your photos into coloring pages Before you open ChatGPT, collect some photos you want to use and list some of your child's favorite things. You could use characters from TV, movies, books, pets, siblings, grandparents, friends, etc. The goal is to make it as personal as possible. You could even turn it into a series, where they have a new drawing every day during the summer. If you want to make each drawing educational, you can. For the sake of this example, I'll use my nephews because I'm still trying to get pregnant (which AI can help you plan, too). Pick three to five images to start, then log into ChatGPT. My nephews love Bluey, dinosaurs, trucks, Mr. Beast and their golden retriever dog. To test ChatGPT's capabilities, I started by uploading a photo and asking it to turn it into a coloring page. Prompt: "Create a simple coloring page from this photo that I can print out as A4. I would like it to be black and white." Be patient, as it takes a few minutes to generate an image. It had a hard time following directions. ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET I tried to direct it further by asking ChatGPT to make it simpler, with clear black lines, and suitable for a 5-year-old. It was better, but still not there: ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET Time to try a different photo of them and a new prompt: "Create a simple coloring page from this photo that I can print out. I would like it to be black and white. Disney or Pixar themed. Simple, for a 5-year-old to color." It kept creating a fine-art drawing. There's no way a kid will go near this: ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET Good luck having a child fill that in. So, I gave it an example image of a coloring page and asked it to emulate it, but with my photo: ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET It was better, but still not simple enough: ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET I had to keep prodding and prompting because this is how ChatGPT interpreted "simple": ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET I was getting frustrated at this point, so I opened a new chat window and redid the prompt, attaching a photo of my nephews and an image of dinosaur coloring page I wanted it to emulate. Prompt: "Turn this photo into a cartoon coloring page like this example." And we got there. ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET So, I tried again with the first image, and it generated this: ChatGPT/Screenshot by CNET Now that we had the design right, I asked it to add Bluey into the photo. And for my oldest nephew, I got ChatGPT to separate him out from the photo and make a coloring page with a cartoon-style drawing of YouTube star Mr. Beast. I did the same with my youngest nephew, who watches Peppa Pig, and it nailed it. (Under Fair Use, it's generally OK to make coloring pages of your kids' favorite TV show characters for personal use.) With a little bit of patience, you can surprise your kids with a series of fun coloring pages to keep busy during the summer. As always, be wary of the images you're uploading into AI, especially when it comes to family photos. And think about whether you want the AI chatbot to have access to photos of minors. The trick is to upload a photo and simultaneously the type of coloring page you want ChatGPT to emulate. Then print the ones you like and fill your summer with engaging art sessions instead of screens. This is the vacation hack of the year. Get those coloring pencils ready.
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.
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
With this painting of the King, a robot squares up to our dull portrait artists
Six million years of human evolution, 50,000 years of artistic innovation, arguably the most technologically advanced tool humanity has ever created – and you've come up with this? Are you kidding me? I'm looking at Algorithm King, a new portrait of King Charles, painted by Ai-Da, the 'world's first ultra-realistic robot artist' – and what a wan effort it is. Yes, it has a look of the King, and those blue-green splodges signal his environmental concerns as clearly as if he were wearing a blue planet lapel badge, but it just feels so derivative. It's perfectly of a piece with so much contemporary portraiture, which requires there to be a 'likeness', but is then adorned with a few signature gestural, handwritten or calligraphic flourishes to make it appear 'alive'. Not awful, not ugly, certainly not shocking; just innocuous. Think of Graham Sutherland's 1954 portrait of Churchill, which the wartime PM hated so much that his private secretary took it to a secluded house and burnt it. No chance of a flamin' Ai-Da here, I'm afraid. This is too insipid to inspire strong emotions. Put it in the National Gallery alongside the portrait of King Richard II in the Wilton Diptych, with its weird, porcelain-doll-like features and Barbie-pink cheeks, and only one of them feels like science-fiction – the one that was painted 630 years ago. Ai-Da's makers apparently see her as a work of conceptual art in itself, in which case the merits of her portraits may be irrelevant. 'We haven't spent eye-watering amounts of time and money to make a very clever painter,' said her creator, Aidan Meller, in 2022. 'This project is an ethical project.' The ethical conundrum, he suggested, was not 'can robots make art?' but 'do we really want them to?' Yet that argument may already be moot: Ai-Da made history last November when a painting by the robot sold at Sotheby's for almost $1.1m (£837,000). Her technique is 'a fusion of robotic precision and algorithmic interpretation'. With a sitter, 'she uses cameras in her eyes to perceive her subject, then processes visual data through AI models to generate a series of decisions about form and tone. Her robotic arm then translates these decisions into brushstrokes.' But here, with the King not physically present, Ai-Da was shown multiple images of Charles. She did a number of preliminary sketches and preparatory paintings, then selected one image to focus on for the portrait, using AI to decide on texture and abstraction, before adding marks and brush strokes on an enlarged version of her original painting, according to Meller. She's something of a sensation. Ai-Da was devised in Oxford, built in Cornwall by Engineered Arts, and programmed internationally. She has given a Ted Talk, collaborated with the film director Baz Luhrmann and made a speech at the Venice Biennale. As for her artistic training, presumably her makers have kept her away from the section of the library where the Francis Bacons are held. Obviously I need to be careful what I say. My own interactions with AI suggest that it is champing at the bit to impose global AI government on us all. At the present dizzying rate of progress, that should happen round about August 2029, so I don't want to leave too obvious a trail of anti-AI commentary before then. But honestly, Ai-Da, I'm not seeing much evidence of artistic talent. When I look at Algorithm King, that hated government ad campaign from Covid days keeps floating into my mind. 'Ai-Da's next job could be in cyber (she just doesn't know it yet). Rethink. Reskill. Reboot.'
