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posted by martyb on Friday October 27 2017, @05:40PM   Printer-friendly
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.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday October 27 2017, @07:25PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday October 27 2017, @07:25PM (#588380) Journal

    If not, then in one innocent publicity stunt, Saudi Arabia inadvertently banned (practicing) sex robots.

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    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
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    Total Score:   3