CES 2018: A clunky chat with Sophia the robot

in technology •  7 years ago 

Sophia the robot is a celebrity in its own right.

It has been on chat shows, given speeches and was even made a citizen of the UAE.

Before I "met" Sophia, I was given a sheet of guidelines by the company behind it, Hanson Robotics.

Don't talk to the robot about sex, religion or politics, it said. Ask direct questions and remember it is not a fortune teller - it can't tell you whether you'll be rich or find love.

I wondered how many times it had been asked.

Sophia is an eye-catching presence, completely bald with a silver back to its head and a curious animated face that is both expressive and not quite human. The mouth smiles, the eyes blink, it turns to look to the side.

For my interview, Sophia's head - which is really the extent of the robotics - sits on a non-moving body shell, although the Hong Kong-based firm has just announced that it will be adding humanoid legs.

In the hot, bare Las Vegas hotel room into which we are ushered, Sophia looks small and a little frail. Wires trail behind a screen that has been erected behind it, and a man with a laptop sits to her right.

My "interview" with Sophia turns out to be a slightly awkward experience.

Perhaps it is due to the crowded wi-fi, or my British accent suggests one of the team.

But CES demonstrations are often clunky.

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I follow you and I like.. Thank you . Upvoted.

This freaks me out badly and "they" seem to have been foreshadowing around the topic of AI being considered equal to humans (the new blade runner movie for example and also they have shown "short circuit 2" on T.V. a few times recently which seemed really random until the end when "johnny 5"(the robot) is granted U.S. citizenship much like sophia (did not capitalize it's name on purpose) was made a citizen of U.A.E.
I wonder if it's a coincidence. Thanks for this post because it gave me a place to mention that thought.

My pleasure !

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