In the run-up to the February Augmented Intelligence auction at Christie's, a serious conflict has broken out between the auction house and the art community. More than three thousand artists signed a petition demanding the cancellation of the auction, which will feature works created with the help of artificial intelligence, reports pravilamag.ru.

Christie's plans to hold an online auction and exhibition at New York's Rockefeller Center from February 20 to March 5. The exhibition will feature approximately 20 lots, including works by computer art pioneer Harold Cohen and contemporary artists such as Refik Anadol and Claire Silver. The central exhibit will be a robot that creates paintings in real time.

The protesting artists claim that the AI systems used were trained on works of art without the consent of their creators. According to British composer Ed Newton-Rex, at least nine works on display were created using such models.

In an open letter, the artists say such auctions encourage widespread copyright infringement and harm traditional creators.

Christie's denies the allegations, saying the featured artists use "proprietary techniques" and AI is used in a "controlled manner" to enhance the works. The auction house emphasizes the high professional level of participants whose works are included in leading museum collections.

The discussion about the role of AI in art also affects cinema. Recently, the filmmakers of the film “Brutalist” came under criticism for their use of neural networks, which some viewers compared to the use of doping in sports.