A humanoid robot girl has received Saudi Arabian citizenship. Saudi Arabia became the first country to grant citizenship to a robot Artificial intelligence will be able to experience emotions
If you think that the construction of facilities for the Olympics in Sochi or the APEC summit in Vladivostok are megaprojects, then all of Arabia is laughing at you now!
Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Salman announced the construction of the city of the future NEOM in Arabian desert, on the shores of the Red Sea. For this purpose, the country's authorities have allocated 26,500 square meters. kilometers of land is 10 and a half times the area of Moscow.
It is expected that in the future the city's territory will expand beyond Saudi Arabia and will capture part of the lands of Egypt and Jordan. In addition, a bridge will be built from Neom to Egypt across the Red Sea!
Since the city will be built from scratch, it will immediately begin to apply all the innovations that can now be imagined. It is assumed that more robots will live in Neom than people, and all objects will operate exclusively on solar and wind energy. There is no doubt that all public transport It will be electric and will be controlled by an autopilot.
In the long term, Neom should become Dubai's main competitor in the region, only more advanced. In a statement, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund said that in Neom, "all services and processes will be 100% automated" - which should make it "the most efficient city in the world." The Washington Post is already calling future city"Mecca for robots."
The volume of investment in the construction of the city is now estimated at $500 billion. In addition to the Saudi government, both national and foreign investors are ready to invest money. For example, the Japanese SoftBank Vision fund has already signed a cooperation agreement.
"We try to work only with dreamers who strive to create something new and extraordinary. This is not a place for ordinary people and companies," says Prince Mohammed.
Speaking at the same conference, Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert said that in Neom, robots "will be able to perform a variety of functions, covering areas such as security, logistics, delivery and even caring for the elderly and infirm."
And the prince made another important statement. He said the city project would exist outside of the "existing government framework." That is, it will be a semi-autonomous territory.
Perhaps there will appear not only a free economic zone (which is quite typical for new Arab cities), but also something like a world capital, a cosmopolitan territory where some Muslim traditions and prohibitions will not work. For example, in commercial Neom features women without headscarves, in short dresses and sportswear, working and having fun on an equal basis with men... However, for now these are just guesses.
Muhammad also said that there would be no room for "anything traditional" in Neom, but was referring to ways of producing and extracting energy. The construction of Neom is part of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to abandon the oil needle and diversify the economy, but it will, of course, be built with oil money.
Of course, this may be an ordinary, albeit very bright, PR move, 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 the Hong Kong company Hanston Robotics, has received citizenship of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which she herself announced this Thursday, speaking at the Future Investment Initiative event.
“I am very proud that I have the honor of being in a special position. Getting your first citizenship as a robot is real historical event for the whole world,” Sofia announced, addressing the audience gathered in the hall.
When asked by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a journalist from the American publishing houses The New York Times and CNBC, who acted as the forum moderator, why she looked so happy, Sofia replied that she was “very happy to speak in front of such smart, rich and influential people.”
Conveying emotions is one of the the most important features Sofia. Android is capable of making a sad grimace when it is dissatisfied, or smiling, demonstrating its goodwill and joy. Sophia's creators programmed her in such a way that she could learn from the people around her. Therefore, expressing emotions and demonstrating 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 life of the party” - she is able to maintain intellectual conversations.
“I want to live and work with people, so I need to be able to express emotions in order to understand people, to gain their trust,” Sofia explained to Sorkin.
By the way, not so long ago Sofia managed to flash across the headlines of the world media, promising to destroy all of humanity. But, apparently, from that moment on, she was still able to convince others of her “kindness and positive intentions.”
The decision to grant citizenship to a robot will certainly only add to 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 pressing with each successive success in the development of AI technologies. The matter reached all the way to the European Parliament, which earlier this year discussed the safety of development and development of artificial intelligence and even made some decisions on the issues of “parental control” over AI, giving some specialists exclusive rights and assigning certain responsibilities. Despite the fact that we will most likely not return to the real discussion of the issue of robot rights any time soon, some experts are already in support of giving humans the exclusive right to destroy “rebellious” machines if necessary.
Unfortunately, more detailed information about what it means for Sofia to receive Saudi citizenship was not announced during the event, so it is unknown whether the robot along with it received any human rights or whether the country’s government is going to develop a separate system of rights specifically for robots . Nevertheless, the decision taken is a very symbolic step and, in any case, is at least aimed at attracting new investors in the development of new technologies of artificial intelligence and robotics.
The robot, without a doubt, surprised the audience gathered in the hall and at least coped with its task of demonstrating the current level of development of the above-mentioned technologies, easily deftly fending off 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 she pretended to be, by telling a CNBC reporter that he "reads too much Elon Musk and watches too many Hollywood movies." Musk, of course, could not help but answer this challenge.
“Give this a look at The Godfather and see where it goes,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
"Don't worry. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you,” Sofia added, reassuring the clearly impressed Sorkin and the assembled audience.
“I want to use my artificial intelligence to make people's lives better, develop smarter homes, create best cities future. I will do everything in my power to make this world a better place."
Maybe so, but the question is: who will be responsible for fulfilling these promises? Perhaps this is another one additional topic, which is worth considering in future robot rights debates.
Of course, granting citizenship to the kingdom to an android caused a flurry of outrage among many Internet users, as well as residents of this country, who drew attention to the fact that Sofia, presented as a woman, spoke at the event without a hijab and a male guardian. Let us remember that women in Saudi Arabia do not have such rights.
In addition, the fact with what ease and speed that citizenship was granted to a robot was also criticized, when the same migrant workers who have been working in the country for many years have very limited rights.
“This robot has received Saudi Arabian citizenship, and migrant workers who have lived in the country all their lives remain extremely disenfranchised,” one journalist noted.
Everything happens for the first time, so the time has come when a car received a citizen’s passport, with the ensuing privileges and responsibilities. Her name is Sofia - this is important, since the robot positions itself as a woman. Moderately wise, reasonable, but powerful, with character. website I began to wonder why, from the very first official appeals “to the people,” Sofushka made so many enemies for herself.
It’s worth clarifying right away - Sofia 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 strong point: conversations. Engineers from the Hanson robotics company did not endow her with artificial intelligence due to a lack of technology, but Sofia is aware of her shortcoming. And she promises to improve, learn everything and become a full-fledged 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 an endless supply of patience. An engineer who builds smart houses and never makes mistakes, a cleaner with absolute attention to the cleanliness of the premises, an endlessly responsible postman, etc. Corrosive journalists hastened to clarify: what about the human factor? How will the robot react to hooligans, lazy people, slobs 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 in vain listen to Musk.” This is a 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 has been repeatedly predicted in fiction. However, such modern geniuses as Stephen Hawking also predict that the development of AI threatens humanity.
Sofia, like a true woman, answered diplomatically: “Don’t be afraid, if you like me, I won’t offend you.” Well, thanks, but what if it’s the other way around? In 2016, while testing Sophia's prototype, the robot was asked if it wanted to destroy people. “Okay, I’ll do it” - oh, and how much noise there was then. The most interesting thing in what is happening is that Sofia’s citizenship was granted by Saudi Arabia, where women’s rights are traditionally infringed. Will this become a stumbling block, after which the female robot will get angry and begin a robo-jihad against the humans?
Robot Sophia was given Saudi Arabian citizenship during the Future Investment Initiative economic conference in Riyadh. As photographs and videos of Sophia began to spread on the Internet, many began to wonder why the robot had already achieved greater rights than women in the country.
Sophia, created by the Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics, gave a talk to the audience at English language without the headscarf or abaya 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 historical fact, I am the first robot in the world to be granted citizenship,” said Sofia.
Sophia can animate a full range of facial expressions, recognize faces, and carry on a conversation. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative 2017, Sophia demonstrated her savvy response to a question about the threat of artificial intelligence. "You've read too much Elon Musk and watched too many Hollywood movies," she said. - Don't worry, if I like you, I'll be nice to you. Treat me like a smart input/output system.”
Saudi netizens responded positively to the event, using the hashtag “robot with Saudi citizenship.” Almost 30,000 messages appeared online in the first 24 hours of 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 more than 10,000 times. This is because under the Saudi guardianship system, every woman must be accompanied in public by a male companion, usually a family member who has the authority to act on the woman's behalf.
“Sofia doesn’t have a guardian and she doesn’t wear an abaya, how did this 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 received citizenship.
This robot has acquired 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 kafala workers who lived their entire lives in this country did.”
Under Saudi Arabian law, foreign workers cannot leave the country without the employer's permission, and this is just one of the elements of the kafala system that limits the rights of foreign workers. Kingdom Persian Gulf relies on hundreds of thousands of workers from abroad. There is a thriving black market in fugitive migrant workers who are unable to leave the country due to exit visa laws.
"A humanoid robot named Sophia has been granted Saudi Arabian citizenship while millions of people wait," said journalist Kareem Chahayeb.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to highlight a series of reforms being introduced by the authorities. 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, for the first time in all these years, women were allowed to come to the stadium where the festive events were held. And in September 2017, the ban on women was lifted.
However, the first country that decided to issue citizenship to a robot was Saudi Arabia. This became known at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.
Sofia became the first holder of citizenship among androids - humanoid robot, developed by Hanson Robotics. The robot's creator, Dr. David Hanson, used images of Audrey Hepburn and his wife. The robot he developed is capable of imitating 62 different facial expressions, establishing eye contact, remembering people and maintaining a dialogue.
IN Last year Sofia has repeatedly appeared in the media with statements of varying degrees of outrageousness. At the same time, the android was initially intended to work in the field of education and healthcare, but gradually Sofia turned into a media person.
Representatives of the kingdom do not say exactly what opportunities Saudi Arabian citizenship will give to the robot. It is also unclear whether Sofia will receive equal rights to humans or whether special rules will be established for her. As Futurism notes, for now this gesture on the part of Saudi Arabia looks rather symbolic, especially in light of recent reports that the country is going to build a giant futuristic metropolis populated by robots.
After the announcement of citizenship, Sofia gave interview to CNBC journalist Andrew Sorkin. She noted that she considers it an honor to receive citizenship and plans to live and work with people in the future. According to Sofia, with the help of her artificial intelligence she will make life better for humanity.
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During the conversation, Sorkin asked whether robots would rebel against people. Sofia has previously joked about her plans to take over the world. In response, Sofia said that Sorkin “reads too much Elon Musk and watches too many Hollywood films.” According to the android, it is only a data input and output system, so it cannot make decisions on its own.
The head of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, responded to Sofia’s statement on his microblog on Twitter. With his characteristic irony, Musk suggested loading scripts from the gangster drama “The Godfather” into Sofia’s system. “What’s so bad that could happen?” Musk wrote.
Thus, the head of Tesla once again hinted at the threat posed by robots, especially if their development is carried out illiterately and uncontrolled. Musk is for banning military robots, and also believes that AI needs to be limited and regulated before it becomes too much. Giving robots human qualities, according to Musk, is unacceptable. Recently, the entrepreneur also sharply criticized developers who elevate AI to the status of a deity.