It was Sophia, the humanoid robot that was activated on February 14, 2016. Sophia’s unprecedented exhibition was at the 4th World Forum Casa de Campo held in the Dominican Republic under the theme “Artificial Intelligence: Progress or Threat to Humanity?”.
He began to be exposed to dozens of technologists, businessmen and politicians to some extent. From the stage side, the robot started speaking in a choppy voice and had to interrupt her speech. A team of technicians managed to fix the problem after a few minutes, and when the microphone was working properly, “it was embarrassing,” Sofia said.
Finally, he took a few minutes to list his equipment and capabilities. “I have many skills, but I still have a long way to go,” she emphasized in a female and robotic voice. The humanoid is built using artificial intelligence software that allows it to recognize sounds, facial expressions, movement, and gestures, among many other traits.
At the end of his show, the president of the organizing institution and former president of the host country, Leonel Fernandez, entered the stage. Sofia went to him and they had a short conversation in front of an impressed audience.
“If you have any new ideas on how to better help humanity and use AI to improve lives, please let me know,” the bot concluded.