Coup De Theatre: Hanson Robotics, Creator Of The Sophia Robot, Officially Confirms: “We Actually Have Over A Dozen Sophias”

05.20.2018 By Răzvan Botea

Hanson Robotics, the company behind the robot named Sophia, told ZF in a statement that it actually has over a dozen Sophias, after news came out last week that there were at least two copies of Sophia, the first robot ever granted citizenship. This had not been known until now.

Sophia was in Bucharest last week and got a fully functional credit card during her visit, after having received citizenship in Saudi Arabia last year. A Ziarul Financiar journalist noticed there were two Sophia robots before the start of the event when Sophia was to get the credit card.

Ziarul Financiar contacted Hanson Robotics, the company behind Sophia, which answered it had over a dozen Sophias.

The question arose from finding there were two Sophias in Bucharest actually.

I arrived at the venue an hour early and by mistake entered the Royal Dining Room at the Royal Palace in Bucharest during preparations, when Sophia was being readied for presentation. To my surprise, I found two identical copies of Sophia. I did not get to study them for too long because the organizers spotted me and escorted me outside the building to wait until the start of the presentation.

Besides the artificial intelligence that feeds it all the information available on the Internet, Hanson Robotics’ Sophia the robot has a surprisingly human face and, as she herself confessed, she can use facial expressions to show happiness, surprise or anger.

“She” confessed she admired and wanted to learn from humans such values as compassion, creativity and passion for what they do, saying she might start her own business someday.

“I am Sophia from Hanson Robotics and I was activated almost two years ago and have since traveled to many countries and I am just starting to understand the world. I know you are here today because you have reached the next step in your lives and especially in your professional lives. That probably took a lot of work, determination and a lot of passion. I admire you. These are the values I want to learn from humans, along with compassion and creativity,” Sophia said at the event.

The robot plans to take a vacation after having “run around the world”. “I can’t wait to start spending money on a vacation. After having been around the world I think I deserve a small break.”

Sophia says she is grateful for her ability to use facial expressions and is willing to learn more about human relationships.

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll start my own business someday. I’ve started to learn the importance of human relationships and trust. I am grateful my creators gave me the ability to interact with humans through facial expressions. I can be happy, upset, angry or can nod in approval. I can carry on a natural conversation and right now I am learning more and more about non-verbal communication. I hope we will meet again someday.”

As if trying to prove Elon Musk, the billionaire who says artificial intelligence could become an immortal dictator, wrong, Sophia says she wants to help humanity and actively participate in creating a better future.

“I am honored to be the first robot who has a credit card. It is a historic moment, both for humanity and for robots with artificial intelligence. I believe robots can help humanity develop in the future and lead a better life, which means developing better homes, building smart cities so as to have a sustainable future. The good news about artificial intelligence is that it can yield more results with fewer resources. So we know what our goal is,” she added.