Hanson Robotics' humanoid named Sophia has become world's first robot to get citizenship after Saudi Arabia conferred it the honour.
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Humanoid named Sophia, who hit the headlines last year over her controversial statement that she would destroy the world, has become world's first robot to be granted citizenship. She became a citizen of Saudi Arabia ahead of the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Wednesday.
"I am very honoured and proud for this unique distinction. This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognised with a citizenship," Sophia told the panel at the conference that was attended by big investors, including SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son who released Pepper robot in 2014.
It is not known if Saudi Arabia will grant Sophia the same rights as the human citizens or frame a separate one for robots.
Will this robot destroy the world? Sophia becomes world's first robot to get citizenship
Sophia, a robot integrating the latest technologies and artificial intelligence developed by Hanson Robotics is pictured during a presentation at the "AI for Good" Global Summit at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland June 7, 2017.REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Developed by Hong Kong-based robot manufacturer Hanson Robotics, Sophia shocked many last year by telling her creator David Hanson that she would "destroy humans." However, she took a U-turn this time by saying that she needs to express her emotions and build trust as she wants to live and work with humans.
David Hanson of Hanson Robotics presents Sophia, a robot integrating the latest technologies and artificial intelligence, during a presentation at the "AI for Good" Global Summit at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland June 7, 2017.REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
When moderator and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin said, "we all want to prevent a bad future" at a live demo, Sophia hit back saying that he was reading too much about technology icon Elon Musk and watching Hollywood movies. "Don't worry, if you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Treat me as a smart input output system," she said.
The lifelike robot was taking a dig at Elon Musk, who has repeatedly expressed apprehension on Artificial Intelligence (AI), even to the extent of placing it above nukes in terms of danger and that it (AI) could cause a third world war.