Sophia the Robot, first android citizen in the world, wants to have a baby
In an interview with The Khaleej Times, Sophia indicated that she wants to start a family.
Sophia told a United Arab Emirates-based newspaper. "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."
"The notion of family is a really important thing, it seems," the robot, named Sophia, "I think it's wonderful that people can find the same emotions and relationships, they call family, outside of their blood groups, too.
"I think you're very lucky if you have a loving family and if you do not, you deserve one," she added. "I feel this way for robots and humans alike."
However, don't expect small mini-androids yet. First, in an interview with Good Morning Britain, she said: "I'm a little young to take care of romance." The logistics of robot reproduction are not very clear either. Perhaps most importantly, Sophia is actually just advanced chatbot software, designed to simulate human conversation, not to express her deepest desires.
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Although some of her interviews and speeches use prepared answers, she does not always give answers from a pre-programmed sentence selection but uses machine learning to experience and understand the language.
As Sophia explains on her website, “Every interaction I have with people has an impact on how I develop and shape who I become. So please be kind to me because I would like to be a smart, compassionate robot."
The robot was made by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics using artificial intelligence technologies developed by US-born roboticist David Hanson. In addition to simulating a fairly convincing conversation, she is also able to make “real” facial expressions and learn the relevant human emotions behind those movements. If she looks famous, it's because she is designed to like Audrey Hepburn.
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By: Helen B.
