By Diana Rose Wairumbi
Egypt will play host to the most advanced humanoid robot in the world at its Creative Industry Summit from April 17 to 18.
This year’s summit will focus on the latest developments in the advertising, marketing, film & TV, and photography fields among others, in Egypt and the Arab world while highlighting a series of activities that capitalize on the huge potential of Egypt’s creative ecosystem.
“The summit mainly targets six key areas, namely advertising and marketing, art and design, film, radio and television, photography, business innovation, and music. We aim to develop creative industries by putting forth new and innovative ideas in these fields,” said Mai Salama, the Creative Industry Summit’s founding partner.
Salama added that the organisers always aim to showcase the latest breakthroughs in technology, hence the choice of Sophia.
Prior to this Creative Summit in Egypt, Sophia had spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos and the United Nations.
The Hanson Robotics invention was officially granted citizenship in October 2017 during her visit to the Investment Summit in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
She is said to have been designed off the facial likeness of Audrey Hepburn.
“We have always tried to bring whatever is new and a breakthrough in terms of technology. She’s been very successful, having recently spoken at the UN and Davos. So, we felt we should try to bring the most advanced AI to Egypt,” Salama added.
The ‘realest’ robot to this day, Sophia’s covering artificial skin consists of organic and non-organic material. The robot is able to express her ‘emotions’ through several facial expressions installed via a large number of motors under her ‘skin,’ according to an article by AFP.
To ensure the robot is able to recognize human faces and maintain eye contact, the robot has cameras installed in her torso and her eyes. Sophia has been programmed to carry out non-scripted conversations, during which she is able to collect emotional data and form emotional relations.
