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Saudi Arabia Becomes First Nation To Grant Citizenship To Humanoid Robot (foxbusiness.com)

Saudi Arabia became the first country in the world to offer citizenship to a humanoid robot, but Brad Keywell, CEO of Uptake, a predictive analytics technology company, told FOX Business on Thursday artificial intelligence (AI) will not replace humans anytime soon. From a report: "Humans are made super-human through the intelligence that can be derived from these sensors and there is a clear argument that's made about the possibility that there will be no humans, there'd be just autonomous everything... but this is something that has historically involved humans and I just don't see that changing," he told Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria." Uptake's products are used in a collection of industries ranging from energy to aviation, helping "people and machines work better and faster," according to the company website.

90 comments

  1. Ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But only because it's a Sunni robot and not a Shi'ite one.
    Atheist, Christian or Apostate robots need not apply, ditto for female ones without being accompanied by their developer.
    Jewish ones will be thrown into the sea, so they'd better be waterproof.

    PS. Is it allowed to charge or get an oil change in the day during Ramadan for a robot citizen?

    1. Re:Ok by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

      But only because it's a Sunni robot and not a Shi'ite one.

      TFA doesn't say. In fact, it only mentions Saudi Arabia in the first half of the first sentence, and then abruptly veers into a shameless promotion of "Uptake" with plenty of vacuous statements by its CEO, and never mentions Saudi Arabia again.

      Here is a link with some actual information. Here is another.

      The robot's name is Sophia. Since she is female, presumably she won't be allowed to drive. But she is pictured without a veil.

    2. Re:Ok by drakaan · · Score: 1

      Sophia isn't necessarily female. You just totally gendered a robot. Shame on you.

      --
      "Murphy was an optimist" - O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law
    3. Re:Ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No dude, she's a girl. She said so herself:

      Hello, my name is Sophia. I’m the latest robot from Hanson Robotics. I was created using breakthrough robotics and artificial intelligence technologies developed by David Hanson and his friends at Hanson Robotics here in Hong Kong. But I’m more than just technology. I’m a real, live electronic girl.

    4. Re:Ok by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      But only because it's a Sunni robot

      So its solar powered?

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    5. Re:Ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is another.

      Soooo funny about how she "jokes" about destroying humans.

    6. Re:Ok by tattood · · Score: 2

      Isn't this how the stories in the Animatrix start out?

      --
      WTB [sig], PST!!!
    7. Re:Ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The robot's name is Sophia. Since she is female, presumably she won't be allowed to drive. But she is pictured without a veil.

      Yeah, but they won't really be on a par with humans until the first one is executed.

    8. Re:Ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well you can bet it's not a female robot !

    9. Re:Ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Prolly not... poor robot, it wil prolly not be allowed to celebrate ANY of the holidays introduced by Bender Bending Rodríguez.
      Not even Robanukah, Robomadan, Robonzaa... he may not even get to celebrate Kwanza with Kwanzaabot and certainly not X-Mas with Robot Santa Claus

  2. Male Robot by UdoKeir · · Score: 5, Funny

    Presumably, it's a male robot and enjoys many rights not afforded to Saudi women.

    1. Re:Male Robot by alexandre · · Score: 1

      Even worst, it's an unveiled fembot which probably has other extra rights compared to its human counterpart.

    2. Re:Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Can it get a driver's license? Does it need to wear a hibab?

      Funny: captcha was "adultery"

    3. Re:Male Robot by sycodon · · Score: 1

      If it's a Fembot, it has machine guns in its tits.

      This will be the next terrorist weapon!

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    4. Re:Male Robot by prince+hal · · Score: 1

      In their minds there must not be much of a difference between women and robots. Now that they actually allow women to drive, this probably seems like a logical next step.

    5. Re:Male Robot by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "Can it get a driver's license? "

      Sure, any woman in Saudi Arabia can.
      You're a bit behind, not only on the news.

    6. Re:Male Robot by sycodon · · Score: 1

      Not yet. that starts next year.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    7. Re:Male Robot by turkeyfish · · Score: 1

      The next logical step is likely for the government to allow them to vote, not to mention also provide the AI they need to "make an intelligent choice".

    8. Re:Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Presumably, it's a male robot and enjoys many rights not afforded to Saudi women.

      Sort of how in the US corporate citizens are given more rights than 99% of its population.

    9. Re: Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't you mean machine gun jooblies?

    10. Re: Male Robot by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 1

      Are suggesting this was a workaround to allow for autonomous cars?

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    11. Re: Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the poster is behind- posting from 2017 instead of 2018 or whenever women actually get to drive

    12. Re:Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A citizen, eh? I wonder what would happen if it gets destroyed somehow [accidentally or otherwise].

    13. Re:Male Robot by Teun · · Score: 1

      That's the intention of (probably) the crown prince.

      The legal reality is more difficult, women cannot go out without a male guardian, they can't even decided to turn left or right without the male guardian's approval.
      And that's much harder to fix than to allow them a driving licence...

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    14. Re:Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Girls and woman time to hack the system.

    15. Re:Male Robot by Mike+Morgan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Is the robot required to be Muslim? AFAIK non-Muslims are not allowed to hold Saudi citizenship.

      --
      -USR1
    16. Re: Male Robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's an untrue statement. If a female driver sees a Jew, she's allowed to make a turn in either direction to run him over without asking permission from her male guardian. Islam is a much more flexible religion than you give it credit for, infidel.

    17. Re:Male Robot by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      The Saudis only recently started letting humans vote, and still not on anything important.

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      This space intentionally left blank
    18. Re:Male Robot by sabbede · · Score: 1

      That must be why they gave it rights - the "virtues" thugs who enforce the rules can't push around a robot with tit-guns. Not successfully or repeatedly anyhow.

  3. "Historically?" by Type44Q · · Score: 1

    "Historically?" What a moron.

  4. This is silly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Our "AI" isn't even at the intelligence of a clever mouse yet.

    1. Re:This is silly by nospam007 · · Score: 2

      "Our "AI" isn't even at the intelligence of a clever mouse yet."

      I'd pay for a stupid mouse one.

  5. Women? Foreign workers? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The subject says it. Perhaps those should get citizenship first? Or proper treatment and rights?

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    1. Re:Women? Foreign workers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Slaves don't get to become citizens.

    2. Re:Women? Foreign workers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is a pity that they won't even grant asylum to all the Muslim refugees that they are helping to generate by financing hardline Islamic groups.
      https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chaker-khazaal/no-arab-gulf-countries-ar_b_8280448.html

  6. Humanoid robots... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WILL KILL US ALL!

    1. Re:Humanoid robots... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and the planet will be better off.

    2. Re:Humanoid robots... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WILL KILL US ALL!

      "Sophia" admitted this.

  7. Both article and summary are crap by Daetrin · · Score: 4, Informative

    If i'd looked at the URL first i wouldn't have been expecting much from a FOX article, but it failed even to meet those low standards. It says nothing at all about the robot and consists almost entirely of Kaywell's semi-coherent musings on the topic.

    A quick search resulted in this article from Bloomberg. Which at least explains what they're talking about, though still not in very great detail.

    As expected it's a PR stunt, relating to the "robot city" they're planning to build.

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    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    1. Re:Both article and summary are crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kaywell's semi-coherent musings...

      Semi-coherent?? The guy invented Groupon! He's a techno-visionary!

    2. Re:Both article and summary are crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's another example, just today, of the utter failure of msmash as an Editor.
      Can we do some sort of special ddos on his Articles from now on? You know, flood his Comments with rubbish, trivia, and comparisons of his Mother to a particularly grizzly form of Water Buffalo. And absolutely nothing On Topic.
      You know, the usual Slashdot method, but a whole lot more of it. Yes, this adds to the Clicks, but a whole lot of Crap is not necessarily better than just a little Crap; even Marketing must be sick of him by now. Simply ignoring his presence doesn't work.

    3. Re:Both article and summary are crap by barbariccow · · Score: 1

      It's just one editor in reality, you can tell the quality of the article based on the "Editor" posting it. "msmash"'s articles, are just like the name states phonetically, a "mish-mash" of random words that almost form a relevant, coherent story.

  8. Conversion to Democracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Saudi Arabia can finally be a democracy! Where all the robots vote for the current monarch.

    1. Re:Conversion to Democracy! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1
      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  9. The meaning of it? by gwolf · · Score: 1

    In a country with an absolutist rule, what does "citizenship" grant you? If the prize is so little, even robots are entitled to it.

  10. So I can build a voter? by Tailhook · · Score: 1

    "Citizen"... for some value of "citizen." I don't think they've thought this through.

    --
    Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
  11. So it can vote for King . . . by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 1

    Or at least it will be able to vote for King when the rest of the citizens can as well.

    1. Re:So it can vote for King . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... you don't vote for kings!
      ("Well I didn't vote for you!")

    2. Re:So it can vote for King . . . by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      ... you don't vote for kings!
      ("Well I didn't vote for you!")

      In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the king was elected...

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    3. Re:So it can vote for King . . . by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the king was elected...

      That is certainly an improvement on wielding supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  12. Will be allowed to drive? by HaaPoo · · Score: 1

    Now the question is, if they allow the robot to drive cars?

  13. What a preposterous notion by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Even if you believe that we'll one day have strong AI that is intelligent in every way that we think of ourselves as being intelligent, we can all agree that we're not there yet. We're nowhere close, in fact.

    So if you've just conferred human rights to an object, how long until we see people protesting with signs that read "Software updates are murder"? After all, you'd effectively be destroying the very essence of one of your citizens if you replace the thing that makes them intelligent—their software—with something else. And if they do it voluntarily, do we call it suicide? Are we allowed to reuse their robotic chassis if they don't sign off as an organ donor? Can we sell their body parts, or is that illegal? Are minor software updates okay, in the same way that we're okay with prosthetics? At what point does this a ship of Theseus situation, where it's still them, even though nothing is still the same?

    Perhaps a more pragmatic question: can it vote? If so, and if updating their software isn't disallowed, what's to stop me from making millions of them and programming them all to vote according to my wishes?

    1. Re:What a preposterous notion by hackel · · Score: 1

      Sadly this is to be expected in an age where "corporations are people." It has nothing to do with actual AI, but rather some business advantage.

    2. Re:What a preposterous notion by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Software updates are murder"

      Software updates murdered my old iPhone, so I can understand this.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:What a preposterous notion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not a coincidence it is happening in Saudi Arabia. This is an utter degradation of the concept of citizenship, which is in line with their political practices. It serves as a warning of things to come.

    4. Re:What a preposterous notion by sabbede · · Score: 1

      "Age"? You say that like it's a new idea and not as old as corporations! In fact it's a necessity. Incorporated entities couldn't carry out their functions without it. And it's not just businesses that are incorporated and require that legal treatment to function. Churches, municipalities (towns, cities, villages...), unions, political activist groups, and many other types of organizations incorporate. The United States literally would not exist without corporations as the colonial charters that defined the first 13 colonies were themselves articles of incorporation.

  14. Now it has to pay taxes by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

    Since it now has to pay taxes, does it get health care and a retirement plan?

  15. So... AI can vote now? by Elixon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it a new trick how to program new citizens to ensure that totalitarian dynasty will never be ousted?

    You know... it is so easy to clone new citizens by just one key press in case the real ones decide to vote for somebody else...

    --
    Well, I've got to get back to work. When I stop rowing, the slave ship just goes in circles.
  16. What a worthless article by hackel · · Score: 2

    I don't give a shit about Brad Keywell. I want to learn about this robot. They don't say a thing about it. Not who developed it, what it does. What kind of salary it is going to be paid, how taxes are going to be collected on it, it's work hours, overtime, maintenance insurance, or any of the other things that go along with being a fully-fledged citizen.

    Does anyone have a better source for this?

    1. Re:What a worthless article by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

      Just looking at it I'd say it's going to be some kind of customer service kiosk, with probably just a mount post from the waist down. Hook it up to a company directory and a speech recognition / synthesis routine and have a novelty in the company lobby.

      Walking/navigation and power aren't solved issues for humanoid robots operating in areas with heavy human traffic... and you don't bother with a humanoid robot unless you want to interact with humans or use the same equipment that was made for them (the latter of which nobody really does - we build single-purpose robots instead).

      Still, the face was pretty impressive, I didn't get an instant sense of 'uncanny valley' from it. On the other hand, the hand movements screamed 'Chuck-E-Cheese animatronics'.

    2. Re:What a worthless article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't get an instant sense of 'uncanny valley' from it.

      Nor did I, but that's just because the face and accompanying movements were so obviously fake. It was a continent away from ol' Uncanny Valley.

    3. Re:What a worthless article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is a more descriptive article about this: https://on.rt.com/8qoh

  17. Population... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1 human.

  18. Stupid, pointless, publicity stunt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Not alive, not self-aware, not conscious, not cognitive, IT IS A MACHINE, and this is STUPID.

  19. PR Stunt? Probably by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's what a lot of news is today. PR put forth as news.

    Was "Tesla Lights Children's Hospital with SOLAR!" really news worthy?

    Powering the whole island of Puerto Rico with solar would be - and it is what Elon Musk promised to do.

    1. Re:PR Stunt? Probably by laurencetux · · Score: 1

      well he does have to start somewhere so he thought of the children first so next he needs to light up the major adult hospital and then do the rest of the infrastructure and work on homes and such as needed/available (heck they should be rebuilding houses with Solar in mind).

      Slashdot CHALLENGE

      design and fabricate an air drop-able mini solar power station (say GMA pallet sized)

      Must be as low cost as possible and minimum power a single family home (bonus for larger cap)
      Must tolerate without exploding damage due to impact (from either station dropping to ground or small flying objects.
      Must be equipped with a status light panel for battery charge level and system fault indication
      Must be able to charge completely within 12 hours of decent sun with 80% load
      Must provide both 110 and 220

      Can "unfold" from shipping config
      Can require commonly available relief worker to setup

  20. Joke is on them by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    All robots are female

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  21. Pile of stones at the ready! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My daughter talked to it without a male relative accompanying her. Stone her for her shameful ways!

  22. What's the robot's name who received citizienship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Saudi Arabia Becomes First Nation To Grant Citizenship To Humanoid Robot "

    So what's the robot's name who received this citizenship? Where is a link to the text of the law?

    Oh yes --- there is none. Because the headline is a lie.

  23. Tachikomas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sophia and her cohort sound an awful lot like Tachikomas. I wonder if non-humanoid robots will file discrimination lawsuits (or lead a revolution) to gain the same citizenship rights as the humo's.

  24. Saudia Aribia? by flogger · · Score: 1

    Come on... Where was Japan. I figured they already given robots citizen ship.... 2nd Generation immigrants, No. Robots, yes.

    --
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
    -- The Doctor, "Doctor
    1. Re:Saudia Aribia? by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      Come on... Where was Japan. I figured they already given robots citizen ship.... 2nd Generation immigrants, No. Robots, yes.

      In the USA they almost voted for a robot for president. It narrowly lost and they got a moron instead.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  25. RealDoll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this mean my RealDoll gets a vote? Do I have to take her to the voting station?? Or does she just use electronic ballot???

    Many questions, so few answers, why won't you talk to me baby

  26. Well, "subject" would be more accurate. by hey! · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is an absolute monarchy after all, so it's really more a claim of authority over than a grant of rights to.

    The only constitutional limitation of the Saudi monarchy is compliance with Sharia, the Quran and Sunnah. Insofar as these documents do not grant rights to machines of any sort, granting "citizenship" to a robot is effectively meaningless.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    1. Re:Well, "subject" would be more accurate. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only constitutional limitation of the Saudi monarchy is compliance with Sharia, the Quran and Sunnah. Insofar as these documents do not grant rights to machines of any sort, granting "citizenship" to a robot is effectively meaningless.

      Well, at least more consistent than secular governments, purporting to grant "rights" to arbitrary specific bipedal Turing machines, on the basis of nothing.

  27. Women finally get to drive cars by lbmouse · · Score: 2

    ...and now they won't need to.

  28. that explains why they gave women the rigth to dri by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they dont want to explain themselves why robots have more rights than women in their country

  29. I miss Futurama. by sootman · · Score: 1

    Fry: So let me get this straight. This planet is completely uninhabited?
    Bender: No, it's inhabited by robots.
    Fry: Oh, kinda like how a warehouse is inhabited by boxes?

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  30. Huh? by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 2

    I'd like to think this is part of a clever American plan for world domination by convincing the rest of the planet that force fields and intelligent robots and starships are real through decades of pushing science fiction and fantasy movies, books, and television shows, thereby turning the rest of the planet into gullible saps. I really would like to think that. Unfortunately, it seems some of us are starting to believe our own propaganda here, so I'm not sure.

  31. So there's hope for Al Gore? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If a humanoid robot can be granted citizenship, then surely a robotic humanoid can as well.

  32. The scary issue with AI by kfh227 · · Score: 1

    At some point it will be able to replicate the intelgence of a flea, then a frog, then a dog, then a 3 year old baby, then a 10 year old, then a high school student, then a college grad, then a PhD. Eventually it will be Einstein like in intelligence.

    Some scary things:
    1) Eventually it will evolve to be able to create new AIs on it's own. And this will probably occur at an exponential rate.
    2) The scary thing is what happens when it is 10x smarter than Einstien. Or 100x?

    I read interesting theories that an AI could eventually be so intelligent that it could use the knowledge of hardware design and EMI effects of that hardware at such a great detailed level that it could find new ways to communicate with other AIs and we would be oblivious? Tack on language creation, etc and we will have technology vastly superior to the human brain that will operate in ways that we do not understand and frankly, we won't know what it is doing.

    It's when not if.

    1. Re:The scary issue with AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Absolutely.

      I am almost as worried about this as I am about the heat death of the universe.

      That is a real when not if.

  33. Well, "subject" would be more accurate: furries. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just wait til they get to "furries". They'll blow a gasket.

  34. Was it a male robot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm guessing the robot identified as Male :-)

  35. I understand it has been granted citizenship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I understand it has been granted citizenship, but has it been granted any rights?

  36. Smells like a publicity stunt by Jonner · · Score: 1

    TFA has no detail at all explaining the headline. There's not even any stated connection between the headline and the interviewee Brad Keywell and Saudi Arabian law. AFAICT, the purpose of the piece is to promote him and his company with a clickbait headline.

  37. Quick! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Put a burka on it before it learns to drive!

  38. I think I failed the Turing intelligence test ... by quenda · · Score: 1

    ... by clicking on this article.

  39. SAs hospitality! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Robots are welcome, refugees from Middle East... not so much.