Potentially bloodthirsty robot becomes Saudi citizen
A robot with an extremely concerning sense of humor has just become a citizen of Saudi Arabia, Arab News reports, making her (it?) the first robot citizen in the world.
"Sophia" was created by Hanson Robotics and might be recognizable to Americans from her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in April, where she lost a game of rock, paper, scissors, and then coolly told the host: "This is a good beginning to my plan to dominate the human race." Then there was that time at SXSW when her creator, David Hanson, casually asked, "Do you want to destroy humans?" and she answered: "Okay. I will destroy humans."
Sophia was no less creepy during her appearance at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh on Wednesday. While the robot expressed flattery at becoming a Saudi citizen — "I am very honored and proud for this unique distinction" — she also hinted at that whole "world domination" thing again.
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"You've been reading too much Elon Musk," Sophia told the moderator, Andrew Ross Sorkin, when he made a comment about wanting to prevent a bad future. "And watching too many Hollywood movies. Don't worry, if you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you." Watch her eerie interview below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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