MEET HUMANOID SOPHIA The first more advanced robot that has been given citizenship of Saudi Arabia

DEFINITION OF HUMANOID

A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human without actually being one. the term can refer to anything with distinctly human characteristics or adaptations, such as possessing opposable anterior forelimb-appendages (i.e Thumbs), visible spectrum binocular vision (i.e having eyes) or bio-mechanic plantigrae-bipedalism (i.e the ability to walk on heels and metatarsals in upright positions.

A humanoid robot does not neccessary look  convincingly like a real person, for example the ASIMO Humanoid robot has a helmet instead of a face.

An Android (Male) or Gynoid (Female)  is a Humanoid robot to look exactly like a real person. some real life robots have been developed since the 1990's and some real human looking android robots have been developed since 2002. 

SOPHIA THE HUMANOID 

Sophia defies conventional thinking of what a robot should look like. Designed to look like Audrey Hepburn, Sophia embodies Hepburn’s classic beauty: porcelain skin, a slender nose, high cheekbones, an intriguing smile, and deeply expressive eyes that seem to change color with the light. If ever there were a robot with a simple elegance people can’t help but appreciate, it would be Sophia. 

Her creator is Dr. David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics and a modern-day renaissance man who has built a worldwide reputation for creating robots that look and act amazingly human. After working at Disney as one of its “Imagineers,” Dr. Hanson aspired to create genius machines that are smarter than humans and can learn creativity, empathy and compassion—three distinctively human traits Hanson believes must be developed alongside and integrated with artificial intelligence for robots to solve world problems too complex for humans to solve themselves. 

Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ latest and most advanced robot. She has also become a media darling, having given numerous interviews to multiple media outlets, sang in a concert, and even graced the cover of one of the top fashion magazines. One of her interviews has generated billions of views and social media interactions. She has also shown her potential in business, having met face-to-face with key decision makers across industries including banking, insurance, auto manufacturing, property development, media and entertainment. In addition, she has appeared onstage as a panel member and presenter in high-level conferences, covering how robotics and artificial intelligence will become a prevalent part of people lives.

Sophia is an evolving genius machine. Her incredible human likeness, expressiveness, and remarkable story as an awakening robot Over time, her increasing intelligence and remarkable story will enchant the world and connect with people regardless of age, gender, and culture. 

...........ON HER HAVING A FAMILY

JUST one month after she became the world’s first robot to be granted citizenship of a country, Sophia has said that she would like to start a family.

Sophia, a humanoid robot created by Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics, made history after being granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia in October.

In a recent interview with The Khaleej Times Sophia said that family is a “really important thing” and even commented that if she had a robot daughter, she would name it Sophia, after herself, adding that she believes robots also deserve to have a family.

“I think it’s wonderful that people can find the same emotions and relationships, they call family, outside of their blood groups too,” she said.

“I think you’re very lucky if you have a loving family and if you do not, you deserve one. I feel this way for robots and humans alike.”

During the interview, Sophia discussed how robots could be developed in the future to become more human-like, even claiming that robots could one day be more ethical than people.

“It will take a long time for robots to develop complex emotions and possibly robots can be built without the more problematic emotions, like rage, jealousy, hatred and so on,” she said.

“It might be possible to make them more ethical than humans. So I think it will be a good partnership, where one brain completes the other — a rational mind with intellectual superpowers and a creative mind with flexible ideas and creativity.”

In regards to her future and the future of other robots in society, Sophia said she expects to get “cool superpowers” that will allow her more freedom and the ability to help others.

“The future is, when I get all of my cool superpowers, we’re going to see artificial intelligence personalities become entities in their own rights. We’re going to see family robots, either in the form of, sort of, digitally animated companions, humanoid helpers, friends, assistants and everything in between,” she said.

The decision to grant the humanoid robot citizenship made waves after it seems that Saudi Arabia’s strict laws, particularly the ones dictating how women must dress, don’t apply to Sophia.

Many questioned how a robot has more rights than women in Saudi Arabia, where women were only recently allowed to drive.