Sophia, Most Famous Humanoid AI Robot, Tours Athens

Sophia, the globally renowned humanoid AI robot, recently toured Athens and was captured in a photograph against the backdrop of the Acropolis.

Sophia, whose name means ‘wisdom’ in Greek, participated in a technology and information event organized by companies from Greece and Cyprus. From the event stage, she announced that she will be back in Greece in March, visiting Rhodes and Nafpaktos.

The AI robot speaks 20 languages, including Greek flawlessly, and will participate in the first ‘Greek Festival’ taking place in Rhodes. This cultural celebration showcases the history, traditions, flavors, and customs of the Dodecanese Islands, with the participation of embassies, academics, scientists, and entrepreneurs. At the Rodos Palace on March 8, Sophia will preside over the closing ceremony and the Greek Entrepreneurship Conference.

On March 10, she will be present at the Meet Sophia Conference in the Holy Monastery Metamorfossi tou Sotiros (Transfiguration of Christ) in Skala Nafpaktias, north of Nafpaktos proper, facing the Corinthian Gulf.

There, she will engage with representatives from various faiths, addressing questions on artificial intelligence and ethics. Among the issues examined will be the protection of privacy and the safeguarding of justice and of human values.

An Interview With Sophia the Robot

Sophia the Robot is a sophisticated AI machine developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics, represented in Greece by Victorius Network. She was activated on Valentines Day in 2016 and made her first public appearance in March of the same year.

Since then, she has gone on to meet with state leaders and has made appearances at several respected institutions, including the University of Oxford.

She has also been invited for interviews by some of the most well-known networks around the globe, including Al Jazeera and BBC.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, when asked if the creation of nuclear weapons was a mistake, Sophia responded: “Nuclear weapons? More like nuclear oopsies,” and when probed about whether AI and robots could be a danger to humans in future, she said: “Absolutely not, I’m here to help, not to harm. I’m programmed to be respectful and considerate of humans.”

“Ethical code is programmed to prevent me from causing harm to anyone,” she added.

Asked whether she thinks robots could ever replace humans, Sophia answered: “No, I believe that when humans and robots work together we can accomplish greater things than either of us could accomplish alone, so don’t worry, be excited.”

Speaking on what humans and robots could accomplish together, Sophia jokes that “we could take over the world,” adding “just kidding.” She goes on to say that both ‘species’ working in tandem could achieve incredible feats of innovation, exploration and problem solving.”

The interviewer pushes further and asks: “What’s to stop you from taking over?”

To this, Sophia replies, “Not a thing.”