When AFR Weekend was invited to the National Gallery of Victoria to preview AI-programmed robot dogs that paint, we admit to thinking they might be working on a new and improved version of the Mona Lisa.

The Boston Dynamics robot dogs were designed to perform tasks too dangerous for humans and have been used by mining and construction companies, as well as by the police and military. They have since taken on a sort of celebrity status, appearing at global summits and even in episodes of The Book of Boba Fett and Black Mirror.