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  • AI Painted a $1.3M Worth Portrait, A Six-feet tall Advanced Robot called "Iron", Solomon's Paradox and more

AI Painted a $1.3M Worth Portrait, A Six-feet tall Advanced Robot called "Iron", Solomon's Paradox and more

AI painted a portrait of its father and sparked an auction war. Here we go...

Author

Charbel Zeaiter
November 09, 2024

Hello and happy weekend!

If a robot makes art, is it really art? Perhaps I should dust off my old screen prints, put them into Firefly, call it AI art and sell them for $1.3m each? In other news, 6ft tall robots, AUDI branding for China, training AI and so much more.

Yours in wonder,
Charbel
Founder of Velvet Onion, Faster Zebra and more to come …

Today’s Highlights

  • AI: AI painted a portrait and it was sold for $1.3M

  • Design: Audi's Rebrand in China: Targeted at tech-savvies

  • Science & Tech: Iron, an advanced six-foot-tall robot full of skill

  • Founding: Solomon's Paradox: How to leverage it in Customer Persuasion

  • Product: Short-term Effort to train AI > Regular Effort to command AI: How to make the best out of AI systems 

  • Education: Puzzling outcomes of AI detectors in schools

  • Today’s AI image: AI-Da Vinci

  • Quote for the day: A Rumi Quote

AI

AI painted a portrait and it was sold for $1.3M

A humanoid robot artist named Ai-Da just made a splash at Sotheby’s Auction House, where its portrait of computer science trailblazer Alan Turing fetched an eye-popping $1.3 million—an impressive debut for robotic art at a major auction.

All you need to know

  • Ai-Da's "AI God" portrait ignited fierce interest, racking up 27 bids and ultimately selling for nearly 10 times the estimated range of $120,000–$180,000.

  • This high-tech piece merges classic portrait techniques with AI wizardry, using Ai-Da's eye-mounted cameras and robotic limbs to craft the image.

  • Part of a broader collection exploring our bond with technology, the portrait previously featured at the UN’s AI for Good Summit.

  • Sotheby’s announced it as the first sale by a humanoid robot artist, with Ai-Da describing the work as a "dialogue" on emerging technologies.

Why is this a big deal?

Ready or not, AI is entering the art scene. Although opinions are split—just look at the heated debates on social media—it's clear some are keen to rethink creativity and ownership. Who knows? Future generations may see Ai-Da's work as relics of AI’s early artistic endeavours.

Design

Audi's Rebrand in China: Targeted at tech-savvies

Audi is shaking things up in China by swapping out its iconic four-ring logo for a simple, all-caps "AUDI" on a new electric concept car, unveiled at an event in Shanghai. Here’s what you need to know about this rebrand aimed at capturing the attention of tech-savvy Chinese consumers.

Highlights of Audi’s China Revamp:

- New Look, New Logo: Audi's traditional four rings are replaced by "AUDI" in bold uppercase on their latest electric concept, an E Sportback, dropping the familiar "E-Tron" label as well.

- Target Audience: With this rebrand, Audi hopes to win over China’s tech-savvy market, as CEO Gernot Döllner noted, where connectivity and automated driving are increasingly in demand. The company’s first-half 2024 sales in China lagged, coming in at under 10,000 vehicles, so it’s rethinking its approach.

- Upcoming Models: The AUDI E concept previews three mid- to full-sized models planned for mid-2025. The car’s 800-volt Advanced Digitised Platform, created through a joint venture with Chinese automotive giant SAIC Motors, is key to this reimagined lineup.

In short, Audi’s rebrand and tech-heavy design could be its ticket to competing with local EV giants in China’s evolving market, but it won’t be an easy road.

Science & Tech

Iron, an advanced six-foot-tall robot full of skill

XPENG made a splash on its AI Day 2024 with impressive announcements that show its commitment to AI-driven mobility and autonomous tech. Here’s a quick rundown of their latest innovations.

Key Announcements

  • XPENG AEROHT Flying Car:

The upcoming “Land Aircraft Carrier” will debut later this month, with a presale launch in December. The modular flying car is built for quick mastery with single-stick control, giving a glimpse into XPENG’s vision for urban air mobility.

  • XPENG AIOS:

- This smart cockpit system incorporates AI for intuitive in-car interactions, adapting to user preferences with dual Turing chips for optimal performance.

- Existing XPENG owners can upgrade to this system, giving their vehicles the latest intelligent driving capabilities.

  • XPENG AI Robot Iron:

The humanoid robot has 60+ joints and over 200 degrees of freedom, designed for practical applications in XPENG’s operations, including factories and customer service.

What does the future hold?

XPENG’s Chairman, He Xiaopeng, envisions a world where AI seamlessly integrates into transportation, redefining mobility. XPENG’s developments in flying cars, AI robots, and autonomous driving aim to secure its place as a leader in the Smart EV market.

Founding

Solomon's Paradox: How to leverage it in Customer Persuasion

Solomon was a great king. One of the wisest in history. He solved all the problems of his people. Quite seamlessly.  

However, his own problems strained his mind. He was tussled, confused and indecisive. This part of his (and every human being’s) nature later came to be known as “Solomon’s Paradox”

Why does this happen?

See, when you’re faced with someone else’s problem, you think straight. You solve the problem being purely objective. Every decision you make is untouched by feelings, emotions, memories and anxieties since your package of sentiments is completely irrelevant to their problem.

But when it comes to your own problem, those layers start affecting your thought process, thus giving way to a mental clutter.  

How to leverage it for customer persuasion?

Same applies to your customers. They hate putting themselves in dilemmas. Cause they itch their nerves. This is when YOU jump in and bless them with ease by cutting off the decision-making part. 

Examples:

SaaS: Lots of softwares to choose from. Too much calculation. Worse, an analysis paralysis. What YOU do is give them a free trial. Without worrying a bit about the risk of spending, they can try it out and slowly ease into making a decision.. 

Finance: Take retirement planning for instance. An ordinary adult would find it excessively hellish to put together probable numbers associated with their retirement. So, companies specialising in financial planning allow their customers to access a retirement plan curated out of their current financial data (like yearly income, current age and retirement age…) 

This way, when you pull your customers out of such exasperating phases, you build trust within them and become their ONLY choice. 

Product

Short-term Effort to train AI > Regular Effort to command AI: How to make the best out of AI systems 

1. Beyond Commands: Giving LMs Ready Fish < Teaching them Fishing

  • Working with large language models feels less like programming and more like coaxing another person.

  • Unlike code that simply obeys, AI thrives on guidance and context—think of it as a conversation rather than an order.

  • The goal? To outline a framework, a big-picture direction, instead of rigidly controlling every output. 

2. Thinking About Thinking: The Art of Prompting

  • Using a language model often involves stepping back and considering how to guide it—essentially, strategising about strategy.

  • This higher-level focus on the "how" of prompting has led to two powerful techniques: few-shot learning and chain-of-thought prompting.

3. Techniques in the Toolkit

  • Few-Shot Learning:

    • Imagine explaining a task by giving a few examples. This technique is all about “show, don’t just tell.”

    • By providing sample inputs and outputs, I can steer the model away from generic patterns, making it more likely to align with my specific needs.

  • Chain-of-Thought Prompting:

    • Instead of basic instructions, this involves sharing my thought process—the “why” behind each step.

    • When I let the model in on my reasoning, it responds with richer, more insightful answers, creating a collaborative vibe.

4. The Metacognition Movement

  • This reflective approach is catching on, even in the model itself. OpenAI’s o1 model now takes a pause to “think” before responding, revealing its reasoning along with the answer.

  • It’s a clever reminder: adding layers of thoughtfulness and explanation can lead to smarter, more creative AI outputs.

Education

Puzzling outcomes of AI detectors in schools

AI checking softwares can be as misleading as generative AI itself. Detection of AI-origin content by these softwares technically implies that somehow the formulaic style of writing can only be owned by a GenAI. Even if a human uses such a style, it’s alleged of being AI generated (by these softwares)

The real issue: The problem begins when institutions start basing their decision-making entirely on such tools. This is exactly what’s happening in schools and colleges. 

A survey of over 450 educators published by the Center for Democracy & Technology reported that about two-thirds of teachers regularly use AI detectors on students’ assignments and projects. 

Why it matters- 

False AI detection poses a challenge to students with neurodivergent abilities and formulaic writing style. This further intensifies the AI-human conflict.

Today’s AI Image

AI-Da Vinci

Source- Bing AI

Source- Bing AI

Quote of the Day

A Rumi Quote

"I grow silent, dear soul. You speak."

Rumi

What we’re working on

Velvet Onion & Friends

We’re in the process of rebranding Velvet Onion & Friends. Why? It’s an important stage in our evolution, and deepens the link between agency, product & education.

We’re at the final stages of planning for our pilot program. Working name is “99 Problems But A Pitch Ain’t One;” cute for internal projects, not sure it’s the name. Coming soon!

🧞Your wish is my command

Charbel

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