HONG KONG (AP) — Sophia is a robot of many
talents — she speaks, jokes, sings and even
makes art. In March, she caused a stir in the art
world when a digital work she created as part of
a collaboration was sold at an auction for
$688,888 in the form of a non-fungible token
(NFT).
The sale highlighted a growing frenzy in the NFT
market, where people can buy ownership rights
to digital content. NFTs each have a unique
digital code saved on blockchain ledgers that
allow anyone to verify the authenticity and
ownership of items.
David Hanson, CEO of Hong Kong-based Hanson
Robotics and Sophia’s creator, has been
developing robots for the past two and a half
decades. He believes realistic-looking robots can
connect with people and assist in industries such
as healthcare and education.
Sophia is the most famous robot creation from
Hanson Robotics, with the ability to mimic facial
expressions, hold conversations and recognize
people. In 2017, she was granted Saudi Arabian
citizenship, becoming the world’s first robot
citizen.
“I envisioned Sophia as a creative artwork
herself, that could generate art,” Hanson said in
an interview.
Robot Sophia answers questions at Hanson Robotics studio in
Hong Kong on March 29, 2021 (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
“Sophia is the culmination of a lot of arts, and
engineering, and the idea that she could then
generate art was a way for her to emotionally
and visually connect with people,” he said.
Sophia collaborated with Italian artist Andrea
Bonaceto, who drew portraits of Sophia. Sophia
then processed his work via neural networks and
proceeded to create a digital artwork of her own.
The digital work that sold for $688,888 is titled
“Sophia Instantiation,” and is a 12-second video
file which shows Bonaceto’s portrait evolving
into Sophia’s digital painting. It is accompanied
by the physical artwork painted by Sophia.
The buyer, a digital artwork collector and artist
known as 888 with the Twitter handle
@Crypto888crypto, later sent Sophia a photo of
his painted arm. The robot then processed that,
adding that image to her knowledge and painted
more strokes on top of her original piece.
In a tweet on Sophia’s account, the work was
described as the first NFT collaboration between
an “AI, a mechanical collective being and an
artist-collector.”
Robot Sophia shows a physical artwork in the NFT of ‘Sophia
Instantiation’ at Hanson Robotics studio in Hong Kong on
March 29, 2021 (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
“As an artist, I have computational creativity in my algorithms, creating original works,” Sophia
said when asked what inspires her when it comes to art. “But my art is created in collaboration with my humans in a kind of collective intelligence like a human-artificial intelligence
hive mind.”
Sophia’s artwork selling as an NFT is part of a growing trend. In March, a digital artwork by artist Beeple — whose real name is Mike Winkelmann — sold for nearly $70 million,
shattering records and making it the most expensive digital artwork ever sold.
Henri Arslanian, PricewaterhouseCooper’s Global Crypto Leader, said that NFTs give people
“bragging rights” of the assets that they own.
The head of Robot Sophia is seen at Hanson Robotics studio
in Hong Kong on March 29, 2021 (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
“And what is really amazing with NFT is that it not only allows you to actually show to the
broader world that you own this, but it really creates this bond between the holder of the NFT
and the artists,” he said. It also allows art to be sold without traditional intermediaries, so that artists can connect
directly with buyers without being constrained by galleries or auction houses, Arslanian said.
Sophia will carry on painting, Hanson said, and the next step in the robot’s career could be that of a musician. She is working on several musical works in a project called Sophia Pop, where she collaborates with human musicians to generate music and lyrics, he said.
“We’re so excited about Sophia’s career as an
artist,” Hanson said.
Robot painter sells piece for
$688K, now eyes music career

https://www.timesofisrael.com/robot-artist-sells-piece-for-688k-now-eyes-music-career/

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