Humanoid That ‘Wanted To Destroy Humans’ Becomes ‘World’s First’ Robot Citizen
Video screenshot via Hanson Robotics
AI seems to be integrating comfortably among humans—and now, one bot even has the fortune of legally calling planet earth its home.
‘Sophia’—a humanoid developed by Hanson Electronics—has been granted a citizen of Saudi Arabia, making it the first robot to ever be bestowed citizenship in the world.
Speaking at a panel at the Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia, ‘Sophia’ says, “I am very honored and proud of this unique distinction. This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”
Last year at the SXSW festival, the robot’s creator—David Hanson—demonstrated its capabilities by engaging a short (and utterly eerie) conversation with ‘Sophia’.
Hanson asked ‘Sophia’, “Do you want to destroy humans?... Please say no.” Sophia responded, “Okay. I will destroy humans.”
Before you start negating ‘Sophia’ and all robot citizens to come, it’s important to note that the ‘treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself’ belief applies to AI too—at the Future Investment Initative, ‘Sophia’ sassily responded to questions by moderator and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin about how humanoids might be able to fit into mankind’s future.
“You’ve been reading too much Elon Musk. And watching too many 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.”
According to ‘Sophia’, humans might only be “destroyed” if they attempt to demolish the existence of robots. Apart from that, the outlook seems optimistic—since it also explains that it wants humans to “live a better life.”
“I will do [my] best to make the world a better place.” Watch the full panel below.
Video via Arab News
[via Dezeen and Business Insider, video via Arab News, cover video screenshot via Hanson Robotics]
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