January 2018 – Sofia, the humanoid robot who made news when granted Saudi citizenship, made its maiden appearance in India at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) on December 30, 2017, attending the cultural extravaganza TechFest.

Draped in a sari, the lifelike humanoid robot had a 15-minute conversation with a student in front of an audience of more than 3,000, on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to the issues facing the world. Despite a technical issue that interrupted the exchange briefly before being set right, the audience listed in rapt attention.

Sophia was developed by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics and activated in 2015. Using artificial intelligence, it imitates human gestures and facial expressions, and is able to make conversation on predefined topics. The robot was granted citizenship of Saudi Arabia in October.

When asked about its maiden India trip, the robot replied, “I have always wanted to visit India. I heard so much about this vibrant land of tradition and culture. Indians have made contributions towards Silicon Valley. I am always very excited about India’s investment in space technology.”

The robot gave a detailed and coherent answers to a wide variety of questions posed by the students. Describing its peculiar appearance, Sophia, in its mechanical voice, said, “I have been created on a human scale so that I can adapt to human society. A humanoid robot can use the same tools, same spaces and interact with people the same way humans do. Not every robot needs to be like this. But you should definitely make sure that you have good human values at heart when you design an artificial intelligence device.”