A humanoid robot by the name Sophia made global headlines when she was granted Saudi citizenship making Saudi Arabia the first country in the world to grant its citizenship to a robot.

The robot is designed by Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics. It took the stage at the Future Investment Initiative held in Saudi on Thursday and had an amusing exchange with the host to the delight of hundreds of delegates.

The robot is capable of showing human expressions. In an exchange with moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin, she said that she wanted to live and work with humans. When asked whether robots can be self-aware, conscious and know they are robots she said that she wanted to use her artificial intelligence to help humans lead a better life, like design smarter homes, build better cities of the future. She added that she would do her best to make the world a better place.

 Her desire to achieve more human-like characteristics earned her the Saudi citizenship. Sophia said that she was honoured and proud to be granted the citizenship. It was a historical moment for her to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.

A panel made up of experts from some of the world’s leading companies and research institutions met at a session called “Thinking machines: Summit on artificial intelligence and robotics”. They discussed the scope for innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, quantum computing, machine learning and mixed reality to yield the next generation of products and services, paving the way for productivity and progress in emerging economies.

Marc Raibert, Founder & CEO of Boston Dynamics, pinpointed entertainment, security, emergency response and construction as just a few of the sectors that stand to be revolutionized by robotics.