Saudi Arabia first country to grant robot citizenship

Sophia, an artificially intelligent robot, made regional headlines this week when she was chosen to moderate a session at the landmark Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.

She’s also making another record as the world’s first recognized robot after Saudi Arabia announced they were granting her citizenship.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, the session’s other (more human) moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin told Sophia of the news.

“Sophia, I hope you’re listening to me, you have been awarded what is going to be the first Saudi citizenship for a robot,” Sorkin said.

Sophia stood as a symbolic gesture of Saudi Arabia’s plan to include more robots than humans at the mega NEOM project that will see the kingdom build a new city powered by solar and wind energy.