History has been made in Saudi Arabia today as a humanoid robot has been granted citizenship for the first time. The robot, Sophia, took to the stage at a conference in Riyadh this week to express her delight at being given citizenship, which she described as 'historical'

History has been made in Saudi Arabia today as a humanoid robot has been granted citizenship for the first time. The robot, Sophia, took to the stage at a conference in Riyadh this week to express her delight at being given citizenship, which she described as 'historical'
  • Sophia spoke at a conference in Riyadh about her new citizenship describing it as 'historical' to be the first robot recognised with a citizenship
History has been made in Saudi Arabia today as a humanoid robot has been granted citizenship for the first time.
The robot, Sophia, took to the stage at a conference in Riyadh this week to express her delight at being given citizenship, which she described as 'historical.'
Sophia also mocked Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, claiming that her interviewer had been 'reading too much Elon Musk', in response to his concerns about robots.
Not everyone is happy with the Sophia's citizenship, with some describing her as 'bizarre' and others referring to it as 'Terminator in real time.'
Sophia is a humanoid robot designed by Hong Kong firm, Hanson Robotics, who has previously hit the headlines for addressing the UN.
Speaking at the conference, Sophia said: 'I am very honoured and proud for this unique distinction.
'This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.'
Sophia went on to explain her hopes for robots in the future.
During an exchange with moderator, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Sophia said: 'I want to live and work with humans so I need to express the emotions to understand humans and build trust with people.'

WHO IS SOPHIA? 

The humanoid robot, created by Hanson robotics can chat, smile mischievously and even tell jokes.
While Sophia has some impressive capabilities, she does not yet have consciousness, but Hanson said he expected that fully sentient machines could emerge within a few years.
Sophia herself insisted 'the pros outweigh the cons' when it comes to artificial intelligence.
'Elders will have more company, autistic children will have endlessly patient teachers,' Sophia said. 
When Mr Sorkin asked if robots could be self-aware, Sophia replied: '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, like design smarter homes, build better cities of the future.
'I will do my best to make the world a better place.