First-ever auction of AI-created artwork set for Christie’s 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-ever auction of art created by artificial intelligence. 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. “It may not have been painted by a man in a powdered wig, but it is exactly the kind of artwork we have been selling for 250 years,” said Christie’s sale organizer Richard Lloyd in a statement. The portrait offered by Christie’s for sale in New York was created with AI programmed by the Paris-based collective Obvious, whose members include Hugo Caselles-Dupré, Pierre Fautrel and Gauthier Vernier. The work is estimated to fetch $7,000 to $10,000, according to the auction house. The artwork was produced as an experiment “in the interface between art and artificial intelligence,” Christie’s said on its website. It was among several portraits produced by AI, all of them arranged in a fictitious Belamy family tree, including Baron de Belamy in a military sash and a countess in pink silks. (Reuters)
102-year-old charged with indecent assault in Australia
Sydney: A 102-year-old man has been charged with aggravated indecent assault against a 92-year-old woman at an old people’s home in Sydney, police said on Wednesday. The unnamed man will appear in court next month, police said, after he was accused of assaulting the fellow resident at a care facility in the city’s eastern suburbs. Police declined to give details of the alleged crime, but said the incident took place around lunchtime on Tuesday and was reported to police. Officers arrived on the scene, not far from Bondi Beach, and took the man into custody. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in jail. He was however granted bail pending a court appearance on November 20. A handful of centenarians have faced trial for crimes committed earlier in their lives, but being charged with a current offense over the age of 100 is rare. (AFP)
Lion cub found in apartment
Paris: A 30-year-old man has been arrested after a lion cub was discovered in his apartment in the Paris suburbs. According to French media, police were alerted after the suspect tried to sell the six-week-old female for $11,470, the BBC reported. The man was discovered hiding in a cupboard at a neighbour’s home on Tuesday, while the cub was found on a child’s bed. According to Le Parisien, the suspect has previous convictions for theft. The animal is said to be in good health and has been handed to wildlife authorities. This is not the first time police have found big cats being kept illegally. In 2017, police found an emaciated lion cub in an empty flat in Paris, kept by a man who took selfies with it. The story reached a happy ending in August, after the cub was rehabilitated in an animal reserve in South Africa. (IANS)