Sophia (robot)

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Sophia at the "AI for Good Global Summit" of the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva (2018)

Sophia is a humanoid robot developed by the Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics . Sophia became internationally known for her particularly human appearance and behavior compared to previous robot variants. According to the manufacturer, Sophia has artificial intelligence , the ability to process visual data and face recognition . She imitates human gestures and facial expressions and is able to answer certain questions and to have simple conversations about predefined topics (e.g. about the weather).

Reports about Sophia have appeared in numerous magazines and television programs.

On October 11, 2017, Sophia was introduced to the United Nations and had a short conversation with the UN Vice Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed .

Granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia

On October 25, 2017, Saudi Arabia granted citizenship to the robot Sophia . Sophia is the first robot in the world to have a citizenship. During the award ceremony, she gave an interview to CNBC presenter Andrew Sorkin .

Shortly after she was granted citizenship, a satirical blog spread the message that Sophia had been stoned and beheaded because, contrary to the strict moral laws in Saudi Arabia, she had " shown herself unveiled and [...] expressed her own opinions". The article was obviously taken seriously by numerous readers, shared tens of thousands of times on social media without reference to its satirical character and triggered a storm of indignation. The incident was then criticized as an example of how easily even blatant fake news can be ideologically instrumentalized and how public discussion can be influenced by its unreflective dissemination. On the other hand, the granting of citizenship was also taken as an occasion for criticism of the human rights situation in the kingdom in serious comments. As a robot, Sophia has more rights than human women in Saudi Arabia because she does not have to veil herself and can move freely without a male guardian. In addition, a robot is given Saudi citizenship without any problems, whereas this is considered almost impossible for the numerous guest workers and immigrants, who mainly come from poorer countries, even after many years.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Tonight Showbotics: Jimmy Meets Sophia the Human-Like Robot on YouTube , April 25, 2017, accessed May 18, 2018.
  2. ↑ Hanson Robotics Limited: Sophia Awakens - Episode 1 on YouTube , November 26, 2016, accessed May 19, 2020.
  3. ↑ IBC 2017-Path to the Human Like Robot: Meet Sophia , accessed on October 15, 2017.
  4. ↑ Guardian: Robot tells UN 'I'm here to help humanity' , accessed October 15, 2017.
  5. ^ CNBC report on Sophia , accessed October 15, 2017.
  6. ^ Mirror: Humanoid Robot makes surprise , accessed October 15, 2017.
  7. ↑ UN News Story: Robot appears before AI committee , accessed October 15, 2017.
  8. ↑ Robot "Sophia" receives a Saudi Arabian passport. Die Welt , October 27, 2017, accessed on October 28, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Interview With The Lifelike Hot Robot Named Sophia (Full) | CNBC , accessed October 29, 2017.
  10. ↑ BuzzFeed November 14, 2017: No, Saudi Arabia Did Not Behead Its First Female Robot Citizen , accessed November 15, 2017.
  11. ↑ Newsweek November 14, 2017: What the Fake News of Sophia the robot's beheading says about Saudi Arabia and reader biases , accessed November 15, 2017.
  12. ↑ ABC News October 26, 2017: Saudi Arabia criticized for giving female robot citizenship, while it restricts women's rights , accessed November 15, 2017.