Saudi Arabia slammed for granting citizenship to robot

In a world first Saudi Arabia has granted citizenship to Sophia the humanoid robot despite the nation still restricting women's rights.

"Sophia" an artificially intelligent human-like robot developed by Hong Kong-based humanoid robotics company Hanson Robotics is pictured during Global Summit. Source: AFP

The announcement that Sophia the robot will become the first humanoid to be granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia has fueled outrage on social media over the unequal treatment of women in the Arab nation.

Sophia spoke at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, designed to connect wealthy Saudis with investors.

With life-like human expressions and the ability to answer questions, Sophia addressed the audience at the conference to help shape the country's future.