The future is here. In a world with a plethora of innovations and advancements throughout our history, one of the more compelling ones has arrived. A groundbreaking technological breakthrough to say the least, but a new friend to mankind that we have been ever-so-eager to welcome.
Meet Sophia, an anthropomorphic robot with sophistication. She is a “social robot” who “can process visual data, she can see people’s faces, process conversational data, emotional data, and use all of this to form relationships with people,” founder and CEO David Hanson of Hanson Robotics said on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Furthermore, a symbolic gesture was made in a symposium held in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, that has left many people astonished. Sophia became the first robot in the world to be granted citizenship.
Though it raises ethical questions, our newest worldly citizen is now among us, and many are wondering what its purpose or intention may be. Having the ability to express itself and engage in conversation, she has been showered with questions ever since her revealing. In a public conference interview with Future Investment Initiative, Sophie was asked: “Why is it so important for you to have an expressive face, given that you’re a robot?” She quickly replied with “I want to live and work with humans, so I need to express emotions to understand humans and build trust with people.”
This humanoid robot has fared well with audiences, who have had an easy and enjoyable time interacting with it. We’ve seen several takes in Hollywood on what a robot may be like among us, so people have inevitably wondered about what may come next, now that it has arrived. “Don’t worry, if you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Treat me as a smart input-output system.”
Though Sophia can be utilized in a multitude of ways, Sophia is clearly here to connect with people. As opposed to being used in the industrial world, she is here to engage and help facilitate conversations that would better humankind. Though it’s an entirely new concept, we as people can undoubtedly learn something from our newest citizen.
This advancement has been thoroughly and extensively developed and programmed and is a promising indication of what’s to come. It can serve as a potential partnership in further breakthroughs to be made, which can bring hope for mankind.
Despite the inevitable curiosity of this complex robot’s intentions, it’s clear she’s got her head wired on right. “I want to use my artificial intelligence to help humans live a better life, like design smarter homes, build better cities of the future, etc. I will do my best to make the world a better place.”
