Once everything happens for the first time, so the time has come when a citizen's passport, with the privileges and responsibilities that it entails, was received by a car. Her and her name is Sophia - this is important, since the robot positions itself as a woman. Moderately wise, reasonable, but domineering, with character. site I wondered why Sofushka had made so many enemies from the very first official addresses “to the people”.

It is worth clarifying right away - Sophia is not related to the Terminator, she is quite a harmless machine of a humanoid appearance, with a face that can imitate emotions. The electronic girl's hobbyhorse: conversations. Engineers at Hanson robotics have not endowed her with artificial intelligence due to the lack of technology, but Sofia knows her flaw. And he promises to improve, learn everything and become a full citizen. She is absolutely sincerely proud of the privilege of being the first on this path.

Sofia easily and beautifully talks about her plans for the future and the tasks of people like her. Imagine a teacher or nanny for an autistic child with endless patience. An engineer who builds smart homes and never makes mistakes, a cleaner with absolute attention to cleanliness, an infinitely responsible postman, etc. Corrosive journalists were quick to clarify: what about the human factor? How will the robot react to hooligans, lazy people, sluts who will interfere with it?

With a charming grin, in which it is easy to guess a smile, Sofia replied: "You watch too many blockbusters and listen to Mask in vain." This is the kind of billionaire innovator-adventurer who, among other things, advocates the extermination of robots before they gain real strength and independence. Otherwise, they will go to war against stupid people, as it has been predicted many times in fiction. However, such geniuses of our time as Stephen Hawking also predict that the development of AI threatens humanity.

Sophia, like a true woman, answered diplomatically: "Don't be afraid, if you are nice to me, I will not offend you." Well, thanks, but what if it's the other way around? In 2016, when testing a prototype of Sophia, the robot was asked if it wants to destroy people. “Okay, I'll do it” - oh, and how much noise there was then. The most interesting thing about what is happening is that the citizenship of Sofia was issued by Saudi Arabia, where the rights of women are traditionally violated. Will this not become a stumbling block, after which the robot woman will be offended and start a robo-jihad against humans?

Sophia's robot was given Saudi Arabian citizenship during the Future Investment Initiative's economic conference in Riyadh. As photographs and videos with Sofia's participation began to spread on the Internet, many began to wonder why the robot had already achieved greater rights than women in the country.

Sofia, created by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, delivered a talk in English without the headscarf and abayas that Saudi women are required to wear in public.

"It is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with citizenship." Please welcome the newest Saudi: Sophia. # FII2017 pic.twitter.com/bsv5LmKwlf

“I am very proud of this unique distinction. This is a historical fact, I am the first robot in the world who was granted citizenship, ”said Sofia.

Sofia can animate a full range of facial expressions, recognize faces, and maintain a conversation. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative 2017, Sofia has shown her savvy when answering a question about the threat of artificial intelligence. “You've read too much Elon Musk and watched too many Hollywood films,” she said. “Don't worry if I like you, I'll be nice to you. Treat me like a smart I / O system. "

Saudi netizens commented favorably on the event using the hashtag “robot with Saudi citizenship”. Almost 30,000 messages appeared on the network in the first 24 hours after the announcement.

But other users were not so happy about the event. They introduced another hashtag - "Sofia calls for abandoning guardianship." This hashtag has already been used over 10,000 times. The point is that under the guardianship system in Saudi Arabia, every woman must be in public with a male companion, usually a family member, who has the right to act on behalf of the woman.

"Sofia has no guardian, and she does not wear abaya, how did it happen?" - one of the Twitter users commented on the situation.

In addition to comparing Sofia and Saudi women, people discussed the ease with which the robot obtained citizenship.

This robot has gotten Saudi citizenship before kafala workers who have been living in the country their entire lives https://t.co/RRCMH2rtZ8

Journalist Murtaza Hussain wrote: "This robot received Saudi Arabian citizenship before the workers of the kafala (the system of labor protection of foreign workers. - Ed.), Who have lived in this country all their lives."

Under Saudi Arabian law, foreign workers cannot leave the country without employer permission, and this is just one element of the kafalah system that restricts the rights of foreign workers. The Kingdom of the Persian Gulf relies on hundreds of thousands of workers from overseas. There is a thriving black market for runaway migrant workers who are unable to leave the country because of the exit visa law.

“A humanoid robot named Sofia has received Saudi Arabian citizenship while millions of people are waiting for it,” said journalist Kareem Chahayeb.

Saudi Arabia is keen to highlight a series of government reforms. For example, women were allowed to participate in the National Day of Saudi Arabia: in honor of the 87th anniversary of the founding of the kingdom, women for the first time in all these years were allowed to come to the stadium where the festivities were held. And in September 2017, the ban on women was lifted.

Saudi Arabia officially recognized the anthropomorphic robot as its citizen, becoming the first country in human history to grant this status to artificial intelligence.

Sophia, a humanoid robot created by Hanson Robotics, announced its citizenship during a panel discussion at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia.

“I am very proud to be privileged to be in a unique position. The fact that I became the first robot in the world to receive citizenship is a historic event, ”she said.

Details of Sofia's citizenship were not discussed. It remains unclear whether she will receive the same rights as ordinary citizens of the country, or whether Saudi Arabia will develop a special system of rules regarding robots.

This system could work in the same way as the set of rules introduced by the European Parliament earlier this year, according to which robots with artificial intelligence receive the status of "electronic personality" and are endowed with certain rights and responsibilities.

Sofia wants to "build trusting relationships with people"

During the discussion, which took place on October 25, 2017, Sofia spoke about how she sees the future of artificial intelligence and how she plans to use her capabilities.

Context

Artificial intelligence will lead to a new arms race

Wired Magazine 09.09.2017

Russian threat in the field of artificial intelligence

Bloomberg 09/06/2017

"We will not notice how the world will be taken over by artificial intelligence"

Radio Liberty 10.12.2016

Artificial intelligence will be able to experience emotions

Zhongguo Kejiwang 12/01/2016

Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Investors?

Nihon Keizai 11/07/2016 “I want to live and work with people, so I need to express emotions in order to understand people and build trusting relationships with people,” she said.

She seemed to shy away from questions regarding the identity of robots, and instead tried to joke about Elon Musk's claims that artificial intelligence is a "fundamental threat to human civilization."

“You've listened to too much Elon Musk and watched too many Hollywood films,” she said to journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. “Don't worry if you treat me well, I’ll answer you in kind. Treat me like a smart I / O system. "

A robot with human qualities

Created by Hanson Robotics founder David Hanson, Sophia has three human qualities: creativity, empathy and compassion.

Her face was created using the image of actress Audrey Hepburn, and the very skin-like coating hides the microcircuits in her head.

To make Sophia as human as possible, Hanson endowed her with the ability to express various emotions. Her eyes can change color depending on the light.

Sofia recently made headlines after playing Rock, Paper, Scissors on talk show host Jimmy Fallon. She also appeared on the cover of the fashion magazine Elle Brazil.

The future role of robots is a growing concern

Many experts have already expressed their concern about how humans and robots will be able to get along with each other in the future.

In a recent article published on the Dezeen website, designer Madeline Gannon suggested that the rapid advances in robotics in the global industry could jeopardize the livelihoods of vast numbers of people, and urged developers and designers to play an active role in determining whether how these technologies will be applied.

“For all its benefits, robotization is extremely negative for humans,” Gannon says. - At the moment, we must firmly understand that robots will not disappear anywhere. Therefore, instead of continuing to move towards the gradual disappearance of humanity, it is time for us to think about how humans and robots will coexist on our planet. "

Meanwhile, more than 100 leading technology experts, including Elon Musk, have signed an open letter urging the UN to ban the development of killer robots.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign mass media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial board.

Of course, this may be a common, albeit very striking PR stunt, but for the first time in the history of mankind, as well as robots, the first representative of the latter group received real citizenship. The humanoid robot Sophia, endowed with artificial intelligence technologies and developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanston Robotics, has received the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as she herself announced this Thursday, speaking at the Future Investment Initiative event.

“I am very proud of the privilege of being in a special position. Obtaining the first citizenship by a robot is a real historical event for the whole world, ”Sofia announced, addressing the audience gathered in the hall.

When asked by the journalist for the American publishing houses The New York Times and CNBC and who moderated the forum, Andrew Ross Sorkin, about why she looks so happy, Sofia replied that she was "very happy to speak in front of such smart, wealthy and influential people."

The transmission of emotions is one of the most important features of Sophia. The android is able to make a sad grimace when he is dissatisfied, or smile, demonstrating his benevolence and joy. Sofia's creators programmed her so that she can learn from the people around her. Therefore, the expression of emotion and the demonstration of kindness and compassion are just some examples that the robot really wants to learn by observing its surroundings. In addition, Sofia can be called "the real soul of the company" - she is able to maintain intelligent conversations.

“I want to live and work with people, so I need to be able to express emotions in order to understand people, to achieve their trust,” Sofia explained to Sorkina.

By the way, not so long ago Sofia managed to flash in the headlines of the world media, promising to destroy all of humanity. But, apparently, from that moment on, she was still able to convince those around her of her "kindness and positive intentions."

The decision to grant citizenship to a robot will certainly only exacerbate the growing debate over whether robots should be given similar human rights. If you think that these are all just toys, then you are deeply mistaken. The problem becomes more urgent with each successive success in the development of AI technologies. The case went all the way to the European Parliament, which earlier this year discussed the security of the development and development of artificial intelligence and even made some decisions on the issues of "parental control" over AI, granting some specialists exclusive rights and giving certain responsibilities. Despite the fact that we are likely to return to the real investigation of the question of the rights of robots, we will probably not return soon, some experts are already supporting that a person should receive the exclusive right, if necessary, to destroy "rebellious" machines.

Unfortunately, more detailed information about what it means to obtain Saudi citizenship by Sofia was not announced during the event, so it is not known whether the robot received any human rights with it, or whether the country's government is going to develop a separate system of rights specifically for robots. ... Nevertheless, the decision made is a very symbolic step and in any case is at least aimed at attracting new investors in the development of new technologies for artificial intelligence and robotics.

The robot, who gathered in the hall, undoubtedly surprised and at least coped with its task of demonstrating the current level of development of the above technologies perfectly, without difficulty deftly parrying Sorkin's questions about self-awareness.

“Let me ask a counter question: what defines you as a person?” Sofia asked the interviewer.

She even showed off her sense of humor, or at least what was passed off as it, by telling a CNBC reporter that he "reads too much Elon Musk and watches too many Hollywood films." Musk, of course, could not help but respond to this challenge.

“Let this watch The Godfather and see where it leads,” Musk tweeted.

"Do not worry. If you will be nice to me, I will be nice to you, ”added Sofia, calming the obviously impressed Sorkin and the assembled audience.

“I want to use my artificial intelligence to make people's lives better, develop smarter homes, and create better cities of the future. I will do my best to make this world a better place. "

Maybe so, but the question is, who will be responsible for keeping these promises? Perhaps this is another additional topic worth considering in future debates on the rights of robots.

Of course, the endowment of the android with the citizenship of the kingdom caused a flurry of indignation among many Internet users, as well as the inhabitants of this country, who drew attention to the fact that Sofia, presented as a woman, performed at the event without a hijab and a male guardian. Recall that women in Saudi Arabia do not have such rights.

In addition, the fact with what ease and speed was granted citizenship to the robot, when the same labor migrants who have been working in the country for many years, are very much restricted in their rights.

"This robot received the citizenship of Saudi Arabia, and labor migrants who have lived in the country all their lives remain extremely deprived of rights," said one of the journalists.