An AI will make history by being the first AI robot to give evidence to the UK's House of Lords, as part of an ongoing inquiry into how artificial intelligence may impact the art industry. Ai-Da, a humanoid artistic robot that has already created an impressive but somewhat abstract portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year, will face questions on the opportunities for AI to become involved in creative industries, how intellectual property could be handled with regards to AI content, and how technology could be involved in creating art. 

"The fact that Ai-Da is giving evidence at one of these sessions is pretty mind-blowing," Ai-Da Robot creator Aiden Meller told Sky News in a statement. 

"[A few years ago] you wouldn't have even thought this would be possible, but that shows you the strides of AI. It's very remarkable. It uses data and sees patterns in data that is not apparent to humans... these strides in technology, in the area of creativity in particular, it's pretty 'wow'.” 

The move comes after an AI artist made headlines last month by winning an art competition using only computer-generated imagery and some minor adjustments, causing a huge stir among human artists. While some judges knew about the art’s AI origins, some did not, though it would not have changed their decision had they known. Some artists, however, had some stark words about the use of technology in such a setting. 

"The AI is not a person, but the person who generated it by typing words into the AI is not an artist. They created nothing. At best, they collaborated. A collaboration they can take credit for because there’s no human on the other end. This should not be allowed. It’s terrible,” comic book artist Chris Shehan wrote on Twitter. 

The robot was created by Aidan Meller who will appear alongside Ai-Da to give evidence to the House of Lords.