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from the someone^H^H^Hthing-has-to-get-it-started dept.
A feminine robot has apparently been granted "citizenship" in Saudi Arabia, sparking a heated discussion over a lack of rights for women and foreign workers:
A robot woman in Saudi Arabia was granted citizenship this week, sparking a backlash that said the robot appeared to have more rights than millions of human women and foreigners living in the Gulf nation. Sophia, a robot with human female features that can make facial expressions and hold conversations, wooed the crowd when it debuted at a economic summit in the country's capital, Riyadh, this week.
As it stood on stage during a panel Wednesday, the robot learned from the moderator, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, that Saudi Arabia had granted it what Sorkin called "the first Saudi citizenship for a robot." "I'm very honored and proud for this unique distinction," Sophia said, to applause. "This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship."
[...] Soon after, though, social media users pointed out that Sophia had quickly achieved more rights than millions of women and foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized globally for repressing women's and civil rights.
For one, Sophia appeared on stage alone, without the modest dress required of Saudi women; she donned no hijab, or headscarf, nor abaya, or cloak. She also did not appear to have a male guardian, as required by Saudi law for women in the country. Male guardians, often a male relative, must give permission before women can travel abroad, open bank accounts or carry out a host of other tasks -- and they accompany women in public. Sophia also seems to have leapfrogged foreign workers in the Saudi kingdom, many of whom have fled poor working conditions but are prevented by law from leaving the country.
The robot also trolled Elon Musk:
During her interview, Sorkin asked Sophia if humanity had anything to be worried about in regards to her and other artificial intelligence, a topic that Musk has not shied away from in the past. [...] "You've been reading too much Elon Musk and watching too many Hollywood movies," Sophia told Sorkin. "Don't worry, if you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Treat me as a smart input output system." [...] "Just feed it The Godfather movies as input. What's the worst that could happen?" Musk tweeted in response, referring to the notably violent 1972 film.
Also at Bloomberg, Newsweek, CNET, and Arab News.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Justin Case on Friday October 27 2017, @05:58PM (6 children)
If she/it qualifies for citizenship, do we have to wait 18 years before we can... you know... asking for a friend.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Friday October 27 2017, @06:02PM (5 children)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_Asia#Saudi_Arabia [wikipedia.org]
Here's an example of the perils of using templates to populate your site with content:
https://www.ageofconsent.net/world/saudi-arabia [ageofconsent.net]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 27 2017, @06:32PM
Islam allows a man to have up to four wives at a time--provided he treats each one equally well. That last part will be easy if they differ only in their serial numbers.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday October 27 2017, @07:20PM (1 child)
So presumably the next question is, can you legally marry a robot in Saudi Arabia? If not, no hanky-panky?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday October 27 2017, @07:25PM
If not, then in one innocent publicity stunt, Saudi Arabia inadvertently banned (practicing) sex robots.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Funny) by krishnoid on Friday October 27 2017, @07:47PM
Man, I think that took me four or five tries to figure out. Couldn't they use symbolic notation like proper mathematicians? Or did Saudi Arabia outlaw symbolic constants also?
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday October 30 2017, @02:20AM
That's why Islamic law provides for the hudud of cutting off your hand if you use it for sex outside marriage.