World's first robot citizen 'Sophia'

WHEN the humanoid robot "Sophia" was named a citizen of Saudi Arabia late last year, she became the world's first robot citizen. Now, Sophia says she wants to experience more aspects of human life like making friends, having a career, starting a family, and even having a baby. Sophia was built by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics Ltd., which says human like robots made by them have remarkable expressiveness, aesthetics, and interactivity. Her citizenship was announced at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit in Riyadh, a major investment conference hosted by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) that aims to highlight the Kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 plan for the future. "Thank you to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I am very honoured and proud for this unique distinction," Sophia told the panel. "It is historic to be the first robot in the world to be recognised with citizenship. "As her latest accomplishment, Sophia was also named among five knowledge ambassadors at Knowledge Summit 2017 in Dubai.

Imran Hossain Roby

East West University

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