The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has plenty of reasons to appear in the media, but it just added another one: recognizing a humanoid robot as a citizen. Her name is Sophia, and she was created by Hanson Robotics, a company we remember for its work on the Han prototype. The presentation took place during the Future Investment Initiative held in Riyadh, and although in general it is seen as a simple publicity stunt, many question the country's priorities when it comes to rights.
One of the most notable aspects of the so-called 'Arab states' is the competition between them. After all, they have an alarming amount of economic resources, which they invest in more than extravagant ways. The United Arab Emirates have Dubai with its artificial islands and skyscrapers. Qatar has been confirmed as the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, whose stadiums will use air conditioning. Bahrain has organized a round of the Formula 1 championship since 2004 (with barely an interruption in 2011 due to the Arab Spring protests). And Saudi Arabia has shown great interest in robots, to the point that it has just turned one into a citizen, or better said, a female citizen.
We are talking about Sophia, the humanoid robot from Hanson Robotics. It is the same Sophia that in March 2016 said she would destroy humans, but this time she was seen with a much more moderate desire for world conquest. She took the stage at the last Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, said she was "honored and proud" of the distinction, and that her recognition as the first robotic citizen is "historic". During the press conference, Sophia was interrogated with some pressure, probably looking for a similar response to the one she gave the previous year, but she counterattacked in a very special way. Given the suggestion made by Andrew Sorkin of CNBC about "preventing an evil future", Sophia accused him of "reading too much Elon Musk". What did the number one of Tesla say? That they should make her watch the "The Godfather" saga.
Perhaps the new robotic citizen will really go down in history, but not a few media outlets criticized her recognition. Why? A volatile mix of politics and religion. Saudi Arabia applies sharia (Islamic law) with great force, and greatly violates women's rights. Sophia appeared in public without an abaya (mandatory), and without a male escort, two details that caused Twitter to explode...
