Saudi Arabia grants citizenship to humanoid robot

Saudi Arabia has become the first country to grant citizenship to a robot. The lucky machine is Sophia the Humanoid, who was designed to look like Audrey Hepburn.

News of Sophia’s citizenship was announced at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

“I am very honored and proud of this unique distinction,” Sophia said in an interview with moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin. “This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”

Sophia was created by David Hanson for Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics. Hanson is known for making human-like robots.

Sophia demonstrated her “expressive face,” showing the audience her angry and sad face. “I want to live and work with humans so I need to express the emotions to understand humans and build trust with people,” Sophia said.

When asked whether robots can be self-aware, Sophia responded. “Well, let me ask you this back, how do you know you are human?”

“I want to use my artificial intelligence to help humans live a better life,” she said. “I strive to become an empathetic robot.”

Sophia was asked about the fear that robots could take over, and responded: “You’ve been reading too much Elon Musk and watching too many Hollywood movies. Don’t worry, if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you.”

Newsletter

These images show the Sun’s surface in greater detail than ever before

On Wednesday, astronomers released what they said were the most detailed images ever taken of the surface of our sun. As...

Magnitude 7.7 quake hits between Cuba and Jamaica, but no injuries

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a v...

US House passes bill on sanctions against Chinese officials for meddling in Dalai Lama’s succession

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that authorises financial and travel sanctions against Chinese officia...

Squid Brains Are Nearly as Complex as Dog Brains, Researchers Claim

We all know that cephalopods are wicked smart, and their complex nerve systems go some way to explain their aptitudes. N...

Four Japanese evacuees from Wuhan taken to hospital with fevers

Japanese officials say four evacuees on a flight from the Chinese city of Wuhan have a cough and fever. Tokyo Metropolit...

US military recovers remains from Afghanistan plane crash

The United States on Tuesday recovered the remains of two personnel from a US military aircraft that crashed in Afghanis...