Humanoid robot 'won't replace human artists'

When successful artist Ai-Da unveiled a new portrait of King Charles this week, the humanoid robot described what inspired the layered and complex piece and insisted it had no plans to "replace" humans.

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Geneva -

The ultra-realistic robot, one of the most advanced in the world, is designed to resemble a human woman with an expressive, life-like face, large hazel eyes and brown hair cut in a bob.

The arms, though, are unmistakably robotic, with exposed metal, and can be swapped out depending on the art form it is practicing.

Late last year, Ai-Da's portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing became the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction, fetching over $1 million (about R18 million).

But as Ai-Da unveiled its latest creation - an oil painting entitled Algorithm King, conceived using artificial intelligence - the humanoid insisted the work's importance could not be measured in money.