First auction of AI artwork set for gavel

NEW YORK - Christie's, the auction house that has sold paintings by Picasso and Monet at record prices, was poised on Tuesday to set another milestone with the first auction of art created by artificial intelligence.

The AI-generated Portrait of Edmond Belamy depicts a slightly blurry, chubby man in a dark frock coat and white collar, and his off-center position leaves enough white space to show the artist's signature as "min max Ex[log(D(x))] + Ez[log(1-D(G(z)))]".

While the auction of machine-designed art is a first, some see the sale as yet another work of portraiture on the Christie's auction block.