King Charles Gets a Portrait Made by a Humanoid Robot But Some Royal Fans Think 'It's a Bit Creepy'
King Charles's portrait by humanoid robot artist Ai-Da was revealed as part of an AI for Good summit hosted by the United Nations in Geneva.
King Charles is no stranger to artistic tributes, with many paintings in his likeness, and on 8 July, he also became the unlikely muse of a humanoid robot. At the United Nations' AI for Good Summit in Geneva, Ai‑Da, an ultra-realistic robot artist, unveiled a striking portrait of the monarch. The painting, created without a single brushstroke from a human hand, quickly went viral. While some royal fans praised the spooky painting, others dubbed it 'creepy' and soulless. Some also raised concerns about the potential for AI to overshadow the creativity and hard work of human artists.
Ai-Da’s oil painting, titled The Algorithm King, was commissioned to mark Charles’s first official anniversary on the throne. It features vibrant splashes of blue, green, white, and crimson, with electric lines and squiggles evoking a flickering sense of movement. As reported by GB News, the humanoid robot artist created the portrait using cameras embedded in her eyes and advanced AI algorithms, with a robotic arm applying the oil to canvas. Her arms can be swapped and adapted depending on the type of art she’s tasked with.
Ai-Da previously also painted the late Queen Elizabeth for her Platinum Jubilee in 2022, and both royal portraits, of mother and son, are now displayed together. Neither the Queen nor Charles sat for their portraits, with Ai-Da instead processing photographs to create the artworks.
After Ai-Da's eccentric portrait of the monarch was reshared on Instagram, royal watchers had a lot to say. A royal fan opined, "Robots should do the hard labor jobs, leave the art for humans." In a similar vein, another echoed, "AI should have nothing to do with art." A critic slammed, "Paintings look lifeless just like the artist." As the comments poured in, a netizen also penned, "It's a bit creepy. And what a waste of energy for the environment, too."
Royal fans also expressed their fears about AI's dangerous potential to replace human creativity and thereby jobs. A person noted, "And how exactly did the humanoid get the inspiration? By copying all the human work and reshuffling it to make it look as if it's based on one's own experiences?" Another echoed, "Humans express themselves through art because we suffer. That's why we can empathize with artists when we look at their work. Robots don't have souls; they cannot express human feelings." Meanwhile, a netizen argued, "This is exactly the kind of innovation that inspires us in the tech space."
Charles has posed for several official portraits, albeit for human artists. According to InStyle, renowned painter Jonathan Yeo painted the first official portrait of the King since his coronation on 14 May 2024. Interestingly, this too left royal fans upset who argued that the domineering red palette and the violent brushstrokes made Charles and the monarchy look like a 'disembodied specter of death'.
More recently, on 6 May this year, artist Peter Kuhfeld also completed the King’s Coronation State Portrait, depicting Charles in his coronation robes, now housed in Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room as part of the Royal Collection. This, too, earned backlash from the public. Art historian Dr. Bendor Grosvenor noted, "The King turns away from us, looks into the distance, and begins to fall into shadow."
