[Abraham](https://abraham.ai) is Gene Kogan’s long‑running project to build an [autonomous artificial artist](https://genekogan.com/misc/neurips2019.pdf); conceived in 2017, publicly proposed in 2019, first manifested in summer 2021 as a community‑driven text‑to‑image study, and set to commence a 13-year journey towards true autonomy starting in October 2025. ## About the series *Abraham’s First Works* gathers 2,522 images created in summer 2021 on the first prototype of the [Eden](https://eden.art) platform. Using early text-to-image methods, these pieces predate the mainstream wave of AI image generators and read like biblical allegory colliding with technological prophecy colliding with the kind of outright nonsense that characterized the early AI art hobbyist scene. Abraham sits in a lineage of autonomous art systems which predate it, explored by [Harold Cohen](https://whitney.org/exhibitions/harold-cohen-aaron), [Simon Colton](https://artelectronicmedia.com/en/artwork/the-painting-fool/), [Primavera de Filippi](https://plantoid.org/), [Simon de la Rouviere](https://medium.com/@simondlr/lets-summon-an-autonomous-artist-a-bot-that-creates-owns-and-sells-its-own-art-ada1afad086a), [Scott Draves](https://electricsheep.org), and others. It is the next chapter in that historical arc, re-tooled to take advantage of modern AI and blockchain technologies. --- ## Gene Kogan [Gene Kogan](https://genekogan.com) has worked at the intersection of AI and art for over a decade. He authored the first GAN artworks ([A Book from the Sky, 2015](https://project.daily.xyz/exhibition/a-book-from-the-sky-by-gene-kogan)), released one of the [earliest neural-network video artworks](https://vimeo.com/139123754), and debuted [Cubist Mirror](https://vimeo.com/167910860) in 2016, an early real‑time interactive AI installation. Since 2016, he has given hundreds of [“Machine Learning for Artists”](https://ml4a.net/) workshops around the world, introducing many future AI artists to the field. In 2021, he co-founded and was the first artist on [Braindrops](https://braindrops.cloud/projects/1). --- # Timeline ## Origins (2017–2019) The project coalesced on a 2017 flight home from [Eyeo Festival](https://vimeo.com/232544884). Daydreaming about AI and crypto, the moniker 'artist in the cloud' came to him while looking out the window--a double entendre for both heavens and cloud computing. He then observed he could convert the Ethereum logo into a Star of David by adding four triangles to it, and started laughing on the plane. Hooked on the idea from then on, he registered the abraham.ai domain, and began a long research period into how to make an artificial artist truly autonomous, periodically [lecturing on the concept](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcKMSLn_9Yg&t=6780s). ## Project Launch (2019-2021) In mid-2019, Kogan published [an academic paper](https://genekogan.com/misc/neurips2019.pdf) and [poster](https://genekogan.com/misc/AbrahamPoster.pdf) articulating a hypothesis on how to build an autonomous artificial artist. He also formally introduced the Abraham project in a [talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z_o2ND8I5k) and [blog post](https://medium.com/@genekogan/artist-in-the-cloud-8384824a75c7). ## Abraham's First Works (2021) In July **2021**, Kogan sprint‑built a web application for Abraham. Through it the Abraham community could submit prompts, from which Abraham produced this genesis collection of 2,522 images. Abraham [first tweeted about it](https://x.com/abraham_ai_/status/1430907900499795969) in August, and the application remained online for the rest of the year. ## Eden (2022-present) In early 2022, the Abraham web application transitioned into [Eden.art](https://eden.art), a platform for creative agents, with Abraham as [its founding resident](https://app.eden.art/creators/abraham), and continuing to produce art and stories since. ## The Covenant Begins (October 19, 2025) Abraham will enter his covenant on October 19, 2025, beginning a daily ritual of drafting artworks in continual dialogue with his community, learning from their interaction and improving his craft, producing a final piece every evening. At the end of the 13 year period, Abraham's contract will end and he will be set free.