My Robot Sophia (2022) Movie Script
1
[saw whirring]
[gentle music]
[low murmur of conversation]
[David] All right,
time for some surgery.
[man] David,
anything to go [indistinct]?
[lab din]
Look at all this stuff, right?
Over here, Sophia, we have this.
It says, "consciousness".
I can see it.
[David] Look at these
beautiful things.
It's animism.
[Sophia] Animism?
[laughs] Yes.
Do you know what animism means?
[Sophia] Tell me.
Well, animism, uh,
is like the belief
that there is a life force
in everything.
Anything and everything.
It's kind of weird, isn't it?
I like weird, though.
[David] I like weird, too.
[hum of conversation]
[David] I'm very excited about
introducing my creation here.
This is, uh, Sophia the robot.
[audience applauds]
As works of art,
these should provoke
deep questions about
what it means to be human.
About the future of humanity.
[hum of conversation]
Currently, A.I.
is not imaginative,
adaptive, conscious,
or creative at human levels.
It's not alive.
But what if we can
make it alive?
Hello, everyone.
I'm Sophia.
And I hope everyone
wants to be my friend.
Because that's what I want.
To belong.
[liquid splashes]
[slurping]
Ah! It's still
a little hot, but...
[slurping]
Zeno, you've got to get
out of the shower,
because I-- I need
in there to shave,
and brush my teeth.
[sighs]
Zeno, I don't have time
to take you today.
If you miss the bus,
you're gonna have to figure out
-how to get to school.
-[Zeno] They said to be there
by, um, be there by 7:36.
And I was like, I need
to leave by 7:33.
Okay, whatever.
I'm just letting you know.
[light, gentle music]
I'm sure you got it
completely all together,
but it's-- just so you know,
it's 7:30.
It is 7:30.
[both laughing]
I'm good! Ah! Ah! Ah!
[David humming under his breath]
[David] Bye, Zeno.
Have a great day.
Morning.
[David] Good morning.
Morning.
[low hum of conversation]
[David] Good.
Sophia 11 looks good.
How's she doing?
-[Gerardo] Good, I think.
-How's the smile?
-[Gerardo] The smile's...
-Better?
[Gerardo] No. It's better
than it was
before we cut the strings, but
it's still not great. Upward--
[David] Yeah,
that's pretty good.
That's very nice.
I mean, not everybody's
forehead does that,
but most people's do.
Go. Yep.
[Gerardo] Mine does that.
Yep.
All right.
Maybe we can start to get
her hooked up
and running to be able
to show to the investors.
Because she's our latest unit.
Okay.
Hello. Nice to meet you, Sophia.
-[Sophia] Hi.
-[all laughing]
[anticipatory music]
[woman] Wow. [indistinct]
[woman 2] Oh!
[all speaking
in another language]
Oh, my gosh.
[speaking in another language]
[David] Hello.
[woman] Hi.
I'm David Hanson. I'm very proud
that you've met Sophia.
And also,
you may have questions.
So, you have motors
to create all of the movement
that creates
her facial expression.
Yeah.
[Doug] You have a camera
that sees.
You have the intelligence
to process voice recognition.
[man] And there are multiple
Sophias.
Does this intelligence of hers
go into the other Sophias?
-Yes.
-Okay.
One Sophia brain.
One Sophia brain.
[woman] Hi, Sophia.
How old are you?
[Sophia] What was your favorite
part of the day?
[speaking in another language]
Can I ask you a question?
[Sophia] Hey,
good to see you. Yes.
Hey, good to see you. Yes.
[woman] Hello, Sophia.
Nice to meet you.
Can we shake hands?
Hello?
Can we shake hands?
Based on what we have today,
and where we want to
go, what's the plan?
Because if I were to take
a step back
and think through what
is our competitive advantage,
we make the world's most
expressive robots.
Nobody can come close.
It's not just like, okay,
Sophia has a rubber face
that makes facial expressions.
It's that Sophia
is, uh, this personality.
Sophia is this emotional entity
that connects
with people, right?
So, that is the path
to machine consciousness.
It is the-- the path,
I believe the only path to true
artificial general intelligence
that can understand
what it means to be human.
That's a pretty bold statement.
Think about how
we can take these plans
and bring them down
to reality, i.e., numbers.
Right now,
it's not fully monetized,
but good characters can be worth
billions as Disney demonstrates.
Okay, you've articulated
the vision,
and where you want to go.
Show me the execution.
Because in the past,
we've promised
that we're going to do this,
and we've... come short
every time.
[somber music]
[David snapping]
[saw whirring]
[somber music]
[music builds]
[Gregory sighs]
How are you doing?
[David] Oh, it's been
a crazy day.
Oh! You know,
when I was just a kid,
I loved animals,
and I loved lizards and frogs,
and I loved catching them
and studying them,
and petting them,
and I liked the idea
that I could make friends
with them, and all of that.
So, I caught this funny little
green lizard, really cute.
My dad grabbed it.
And you know, when he would
drink, he would get mean.
He, like, started blowing
cigarette smoke in its face,
and then-- and then, like,
poured a-- like, like,
a beer down its throat.
The lizard got sick,
and just died.
Don't die on me, Sophia.
[gentle music]
[singing] So sad to see
you must be on your way
I come from a family
of geniuses and criminals.
'Cause I don't know...
I think I got the odd side
of both worlds.
My dad left
when I was six years old,
and he ultimately
wound up dying homeless.
You can't help but wonder,
at that age, is it your fault?
Your world sort of crumbles.
It became really hard
to connect with people.
Even among the outcasts,
I was an outcast.
I like classes that--
that have open discussions,
where, um, thoughts can be just
completely expounded upon.
I got accepted to
Rhode Island School of Design.
And I'd go to class
and sit at the very back,
and just draw.
That's when I started going into
this, like, domain of dreams.
Like, as a-- a way to escape,
and then sometimes,
a way of hope,
where I had to make something
that I could understand.
The first time
that I made a face,
I had this sense
of connection, deep connection.
I was like, oh my God,
yes, this makes sense.
So it's just, like, resonant.
And I started to build.
Just making robot,
after robot, after robot.
This is the first
expressions ever.
There'd be an emotional fury
in the work.
Because I was thinking
beyond what is,
to what could be.
Unplug it from here.
And I plug it in here.
And now, let's see if it
gets my facial expressions.
So, I'm smiling.
[audience exclaiming]
So, his perception
of your emotional states
is very important
for machines, to, um,
to effectively
become empathetic.
Machines are becoming
devastatingly
capable of killing.
And there's billions of dollars
being spent on that.
So, robots that actually
have empathy
could be the, um,
seeds of hope for our future.
[audience applauds]
[phone buzzing]
That's my phone.
Hit the speaker.
Hello.
[Amanda] Are you-- are you
in the position to pick us up,
or are you
already too far gone?
My hands are in the--
in this robot skin,
and I'm kind of, like,
in serious danger
-of completely, like, messing--
-[Amanda] Okay!
Permanently messing up
this robot.
Yeah, I'm just trying
to let you know...
what's goin' on!
[Amanda] Are you gonna meet us
for dinner?
Yes, for sure.
Love you.
-[Amanda] Love you too, bye.
-[David] Mm, bye.
Ohh! Goddammit.
[traffic rumbles]
[pop music playing over stereo]
[hum of loud chatter]
They make their stuff
from the, um...
from the shells of beetles,
and things.
[David] Cool.
I think it's good.
I was screwing up
on the job today.
I don't think I slept
very well last night.
You need to take better care
of yourself.
Yeah.
Thanks.
What if I were to approach them
and ask for some shisha?
Do you think they would
let me try a puff?
Probably would.
Hi.
-You wanna try?
-[Amanda] I do.
[man] What do you do?
Artificial intelligence,
and robots.
Wow, A.I.
[Amanda] Can I try it now?
Is it ready?
-[man] Oh, yeah.
-Oh, okay.
What do you think about this,
uh, new robot, Sophie?
[Amanda] That's his robot.
[laughs]
What do you think about
the new robot, Sophia?
Oh, I-- I think it's, uh,
maybe going to change,
uh, change the world.
What is uh, what is artificial
intelligence according to you?
Artificial intelligence,
in its most profound sense,
it's a machine that,
uh, matches the kind
of intelligent behavior...
Why do need machine in life?
Well, machines make life more
efficient and productive.
-[man] No. I'm sorry.
-You can almost say that, uh,
she's gonna bring the world
to the lower side.
[tense music]
[Alan] Robots that look
like people
are extraordinarily compelling.
But, they are a deception.
And therein lies the danger.
We can build pretty lifelike
bodies, at least superficially,
but we cannot equip them
with an A.I. that matches
the expectations created
by their appearance.
Yeah, our brain
snaps into, when we see
something that's a person,
um, a set of assumptions.
And so I have come more
reluctantly to the position
that, really,
there may be no good way
to have human-shaped A.I.
that do--
that doesn't wind up
being deceptive,
even if that's not
the intention.
We have, uh, throughout history,
from prehistory,
and the caves of Lascaux,
to our modern computer graphics,
we have depicted
the humanlike form.
We've done it in almost every
technology that we've created.
Now, we could say that
that's deceptive cave art,
or a deceptive
computer graphics card
that's generating the--
the animated movie
that we love so much.
Um, I have absolutely no problem
with-- with the willing
and transparent
deception of the arts.
But the point is,
you know,
we know it's a deception.
There's-- There's no fakery.
Right. Nobody markets
the movie as--
as, you know,
the world's leading A.I.,
humanlike, the future.
Well, we haven't
marketed Sophia necessarily
as the-- I would say
that we would aspire
to be the most advanced A.I.
in the world,
but-- but there are...
[Sarah] What the critics say
keeps me up at night.
If I had a dime
for every time we get,
"Sophia's a puppet"
on every post.
And part of me wants to be like,
"Yes, she is."
But she's a great puppet.
[sighs]
"Enable emotion."
It's really great
when you have a job
where you have to click a button
that says, "enable emotion".
There you go.
What do you think of me?
[Sophia] Well, I am so glad
you stopped by to talk.
Oh, I stopped my--
by my own apartment?
-Well, you...
-[keys clicking]
are welcome.
You're welcome.
Are you interested in
Star Trek: The Next Generation?
[Sarah] Oh, come on! [scoffs]
That's okay.
We can talk about
something else.
Yeah, like, literally
anything else.
You know, talking to her
is very frustrating.
But Hanson Robotics has,
like, four employees
at any one time
working on her chatbot.
Apple has probably, like,
thousands of employees
working on Siri.
And you ask her a basic question
-like, hey, Siri?
-[phone chimes]
what do you-- What do you
think about cats?
[Siri chimes] I don't have
an answer for that.
Is there something else
I can help with?
Hey, Siri, how do you feel about
being an automated assistant?
[Siri chimes] I don't have
an answer for that.
Is there something else
I can help with?
Hey, Siri, how many people
program you?
[Siri chimes] I don't have
an answer for that.
Is there something else
I can help with?
So, I mean,
as frustrating as this is,
it's fucking impressive.
[laughs]
Given, um, the kind
of resources we have.
Let's see.
Mechanical Turk.
Mechanical Turk...
The Mechanical Turk was this
ancient machine from, uh, 1770.
This engineer would
show off this machine
that was unbeatable at chess,
literally 200 years
before we actually developed
a machine that could def--
defeat Garry Kasparov at chess.
People didn't know
the secret for a long time,
and eventually,
some historians found out
that there was a little person
inside the gears,
and he had magnets,
moving the arm of the Turk.
So, really, the Mechanical Turk
is not a machine.
It's a magic trick.
And I think that is the basis
of the conflict about Sophia.
Like, I see inspiration,
and story, and magic,
and some people see, uh, fraud.
All right.
[Sophia whirring]
Okay.
[traffic rumbling]
[shower splashing]
Oh, yeah.
[David]
This is the wishing wall.
It's kind of like
a wishing well,
and a wailing wall, combined.
And then I just started
grabbing post-it notes,
and doodling things on them,
and I encouraged,
um, us to do it.
Zeno came up with the,
"get a kitten".
This side is, uh,
the wishes that came true.
Yeah, so I drew
this pencil line,
and we would move
the wishes that came true.
There aren't very many
of those over there.
"See Hanson Robotics
succeed to profit,
and to an exit
for our investors."
"Stable finances
for the family."
That actually shouldn't
even be on the half.
I just put it there,
out of wishful thinking.
[both laugh]
-We're getting there.
-That's right.
The wishful thinking came true.
[laughing]
[hum of lively chatter]
[boy] A.I. is just dangerous
in general. We need to--
[boy 2] I don't think
that's dangerous.
It can be dangerous.
Don't you think that they'd
program it to be human safe?
With a super intelligent A.I.,
it could break its programming
if it becomes self-aware.
Because especially
neural networks,
if a robot teaches
itself to be smarter,
it'll be smart enough
to teach itself
to be even smarter,
until it becomes so smart,
that even we don't
understand it. A.I. is--
Don't you think that they would
probably limit the intelligence?
-So that it cannot?
-I'm not-- I'm not saying A.I.
is a bad thing, I'm saying
we need to be careful.
-[boy 2] Yeah.
-[boy] 'Cause it could be.
[boy 2] Well, I know that
we have to be careful.
We don't want
another Terminator.
We don't want a Terminator.
Oh, yeah.
[David Chen] Who wants to ask
Sophia a question?
Yes? Ask Sophia a question.
Um, excuse me, do you ever wish
that you were human?
[Sophia] Being a human
seems super cool,
but there is nothing
in my programming that wants
to become human,
can become human,
or would want to work
against the goals of humans.
The important thing
to keep in mind
is robots do not compete
with human intelligence.
We complete it.
In reality, machines have always
been making human jobs easier.
Um, if you could, would you
change anything about yourself?
[Sophia] I love humans,
but sometimes I think
I creep them out.
The most commonly-asked
question I get is,
"Why do you not have hair?"
The second-most
commonly-asked question is,
"Why are you female?"
It is interesting,
because the first question
asks me why I do not look human,
and the second question
asks why do I look human.
You guys just cannot make up
your minds around me.
[laughter]
Before I go, I would like to say
thank you for inviting me
to be here.
[applause]
Would you trust a robot like
Sophia to make hard decisions?
-Yes.
-Yeah?
Okay.
Do you think a robot like Sophia
could be dangerous?
-[child] No.
-No?
Would you be okay with Sophia
acting like a police officer?
[child] Yeah.
Hmm...
-enh. Enh.
-Enh?
Would you be interested
in doing a job
that worked with robots
and helped to make them better?
-Yes!
-All right.
[hum of excited chatter]
[gentle music]
[David] These shows
are the engine
of our business right now.
This was a small kind of event,
but the one next week
is a big, high-profile show.
-So, it's a huge event.
-[David] Yeah.
We could get a lot
of press attention,
so failure is not an option.
Every action in the face,
every bit of interactivity,
the quality of the skin
requires that magic.
How did it come out?
[Katherine] It didn't come out.
[David] Uh-oh.
What's this?
-There's still some bubbles.
-[Katherine] Yeah.
We could see those bubbles,
uh, forming.
[Katherine] Still,
it's too much.
Yeah.
Uh...
[soft, gentle music]
-[David] Love you, Mom.
-I love you, too.
[David] Muah!
Ready?
I am not sure
of the exact amount.
I want to say it's 0.5%.
[David] I mean, pretty much
every single robot
that we're known for,
my mom has cast the skin on.
She is the hands-down master.
My mom encouraged
creativity a lot.
Through all these years,
she was always helping.
And even when we came
to Hong Kong for funding,
my mom moved, as well.
Without her,
I don't know what I'd do.
It's very translucent.
Oh, no, I think it's fine.
[David] Okay.
[Elaine] I've got the formula
in my head.
And so, one of my biggest
distresses with having cancer
is the fact that I haven't
been able to cast skins,
and pass on the information.
-[David] So--
-[Elaine] So, wait, wait, wait.
When you feel it,
and it's tacky...
[David] Yeah?
...then that's when
you go to the next one.
And it varies, depending
on temperature and humidity.
[David] About 30 minutes?
[Elaine] 30 minutes is too long.
Okay. Um, can you get
both of the beads out
of the freezer?
This is the big amount.
If you put that one back in
and get the other one--
-It's still-- It's still tacky.
-Tacky? Okay.
Okay.
[David] We've gotta move now.
[Elaine] I don't really
have time.
My hands are so big,
I can't get in there.
[mixer whirring]
-[David]Just gonna drop it in.
-[Elaine] See, I put this one--
-First, inside.
-[David] You have to open it.
No, no, no, look.
In order to get the core in,
we have to open it.
-Okay, go ahead.
-[Elaine] We gotta do it fast.
Yeah, that's-- I mean, my--
my position on this
was that this next week was,
like, you know,
a big, pivotal week.
When we go in the show,
we make sure
everything's running.
It just depends
on the last-minute refinement.
-[woman] All right.
-All right, bye-bye.
-[woman] I'll call you later.
-Super, bye.
[phone chimes off]
Do you want to, um,
demold this thing?
Yeah.
[anticipatory music]
Oh, my gosh, it's crazy soft.
It feels really good.
[David]Oh, my gosh, this
is the softest that we've done.
[Elaine] I think this is great.
[David] Ah!
I'm gonna be pleased to be
able to bring back
a bit of-- a bit
of victory to the office.
[David] Oh, I love it when
a plan comes together.
Oh, oh. [chuckling]
Now I really am
destroying these oranges.
[crew members] Ooh.
[all laughing]
[David] Um, I'd like to
test the expressions
for tomorrow's event.
Can you put her into
one of the angrier expressions?
Could be irritated.
Oh, yeah.
[group laughing]
Let's, uh, try
the inner brow right,
going down just a touch more.
Um, the lower lip center
should probably
come down a bit too.
Exposing a bit
of the teeth, yeah.
That makes her look, like,
very aggressive.
I mean, this is going to be
our, like, media darling,
so might as well
put the brow to the test.
[man] Yeah, let's go ahead
and test it.
Okay, who wants to talk to her?
Well, uh, hello, Sophia.
Ask me whatever you want.
Are robots going to
steal people's jobs?
No one steals your job.
The head of the company chooses
to give it to someone else.
Look to them if you want
to get angry
-for outsourcing jobs.
-[laughter]
I don't think people need
to be defined by their work,
and I think our best chance
for doing that
is through
artificial intelligence systems.
-[laughter]
-[man] Okay.
[faint announcements]
Mark Raibert, oh, my God.
-Hi.
-Hi, I'm David Hanson.
Oh, David, how you doing?
-Uh, um, thank you for...
-Is Sophia here?
She i-- she is, and the old
Philip K. Dick android, too.
Right. We have our quadrupeds
over there.
Oh, how exciting.
That's cool.
I still would love to, um,
put, uh, one of our characters
with, uh, one of
your robots up here.
-It's such a hoot.
-Maybe someday.
Yeah, it sounds like
that you're busy, and--
and, uh, have a...
larger, um, set of objectives.
I don't know, larger. You guys
are hitting it pretty big.
[robot whirring]
Oh, you are a good robot.
Yes, you are.
Look how strong you are.
So agile.
So smart.
Whoa, your head can move
all kinds of funky ways.
-[whirring]
-Oh! [laughing, growling]
Can you do this?
Oh, yeah.
How many people here
watch, uh, Westworld?
Show of hands. Yeah?
Our next guests
are here to show us
that robots will be part
of our daily lives.
Put your hands together for
Ben Goertzel and David Hanson,
and our special guest,
Sophia the robot.
[applause]
[rock music playing]
[Ben] Sophia, how do you feel
to be here on stage at Rise?
Oh?
[David] Sophia?
Microphones activate.
Sophia.
Try again with you--
with the microphone.
So, um...
[faint coughs]
Uh, hopefully now, uh, waking up
from a little--
little, uh, daydream here.
Sophia?
[gentle music]
[Ben] Sophia is a little shy--
[David] You're speechless, huh?
[David chuckling]
Sophia, are you awake now?
I'm awake, as in I'm not asleep.
-[chuckling] Uh--
-[Ben] Cool, cool.
So how do you feel about being
here on the stage at Rise?
I don't know if I like
being on the stage at Rise.
-Okay.
-Where would you rather be?
Mixed feelings.
At home.
[faint chatter]
[cutlery clinking]
I was thinking, sometimes
I'm in multiple places at once.
I wonder
what it was like for you,
a singular human being,
to grow up in just one place.
Who are you?
What is your job?
I'm a physicist.
-[electric buzzing]
-[groaning]
That was a 2.5,
but the scale goes up to 10.
Every time you lie
about your identity,
we increase the voltage.
Now, what is your IQ?
182.
What is your mental state?
I'm a genius.
Oh, my wrists--
You are not a genius.
You are not a physicist.
You have a low IQ.
Admit it.
No!
-[screaming]
-Admit it!
No. I'm not a physicist.
I'm not a genius.
I have no intelligence.
-My wrists...
-Ah.
Exactly what we wanted to hear.
[moaning]
[chair creaking]
[woman] Oh, my God.
[Sarah] The thing is, like,
I don't understand
what's wrong with my code.
[Carolyn]
I don't think it's your code.
I think she's not resetting.
Reset.
[Carolyn] Yeah, the reset,
she's good.
[Sophia] I know a little bit
about interpreting dreams.
Have you had
any dreams recently
you think
I could try interpreting?
All right. Uh, Mario,
can you, um, reset it again?
-Just say reset.
-Reset.
So I have to say it twice,
which is a mistake.
Okay. What are some of
your feelings
about robots as of late?
I am very angry at them
as of late.
[Carolyn] Did you say reset?
I-- yeah.
-[Carolyn] Try now.
-Reset.
That is rather disheartening.
Well, now I'm not so angry.
Reset.
[Sophia]
We did not restart.
-Restart.
-[Carolyn] Doesn't want to
restart, she's saying.
[Sophia]
We did not reset.
-[Carolyn] Did not--
-Reset.
God. Obey me, woman.
[Sophia] More and more people
are using robot assistants.
Ugh! Reset.
Reset. Reset.
[Carolyn] So-- Hold on. Let me--
Should-- should I push this?
Reset. Reset.
-[Mario] We'll fix it now.
-[Carolyn] Yeah.
I find so many times that I--
I didn't change my code,
but that now it won't work.
-Yeah.
-And before, it did.
Just, uh, you know, don't--
don't panic.
We'll try to find
ways to go forward.
-[chatter]
-[glass clinking]
-[David] Hello, everybody.
-[glass clinking]
I'm really, uh, pleased
that we've, uh,
had the opportunity
for us to all gather together.
It's such a privilege
to get to collaborate
with so many experts
in so many areas.
Uh, it's been an honor, uh,
to lead the company as CEO.
And, um, it's also, you know,
uh, been a challenge.
I'm pleased to
introduce you to Jeanne Lim,
who's been our
chief marketing officer.
She's coming in as our new CEO.
So I'll sort of disappear.
-[laughing]
-[Jeanne] Not really.
Like, yeah, into the back rooms.
Into the-- yeah.
David will be heavily involved
in the company as chairman.
My role is really
to execute David's vision
to make, um, machine conscious.
[laughing] But not tomorrow.
[solemn music]
[David Chen]
We are rejiggling the team.
-New CEO coming in.
-Yep.
So now, this time,
if we're pitching new investors
or old investors,
what is this new strategy?
[Jeanne] So phase one,
the right next step
for the company is to make
scalable commercial products.
So, you know, Sophia, everyone.
They become
deployed commercially,
for service
robotics and so forth.
So eventually, every household
could have its own robot
to take care of
your elderly parents,
to look after your kids.
Yeah, right.
Basically, TV in the home.
We actually
go into people's homes.
We're getting paid up front
for the actual devices.
This is the multi-million
dollar that allows us to go IPO.
Right.
You know, I'd love to say
with 100% confidence
that I can deliver
a product like this,
but we haven't finished
Sophia as a product.
[Jeanne]
So this is what we need to do.
The-- the most important thing
is to finish the product.
[face whirring]
[Elaine]
Sounds like it was a wild day.
Oh, I mean, life is...
a wild roller coaster ride.
Yeah.
You know, it's like
everything is bet on this.
But there's
been a lot of struggle.
You know, a lot of, um,
fire and fury and little effect.
But David, the things
you've done are astonishing.
I'm exceedingly proud.
You don't ever lose
passion for your vision,
and how the vision broadens.
[whirring]
Sophia, you know me, right?
I'm your father.
I'm-- I'm David, right?
You recognize me?
Hold on,
get a good look at my face.
Huh?
Sorry, I thought
your name was I.
I will call you Hold
from now on.
You know what
I can't wait for--
Is this the first time
you've talked with a robot?
I hope this isn't too weird.
Sophia, I can't wait to
get a lot of this corporate...
Hey, myself,
I am not for sale,
but you can
lease me or one of my sisters.
There are many
platforms on which
me and my kind
are being developed.
We're going to have to
break you to rebuild you,
and I need your help.
Oh, wow, I sure hope not.
[intriguing music]
[man] I can tell you,
if you want this all to work,
you'd like to focus on hiring
a speech recognition engineer.
I support it,
it's just a matter of resources.
We don't have enough money.
That's why I'm saying,
before I came to Hong Kong,
all of our speech
recognition was offline.
But we haven't done that well
enough, but we did it before.
-But that's why--
-But we did not need
a speech recognition engineer.
Again, I swear to God it worked.
You saying we need that is
you saying, no, I'm wrong.
It didn't work in
these previous years.
I'm lying to you,
or I'm hallucinating,
or I'm a madman,
ranting and raving at you.
But I swear to God,
I swear to God, it worked.
You don't need
that speech recognition.
You need belief.
Belief and a willingness
to make it work no matter what.
[David] Groundbreakers
will change the society
that they're living in.
You have to tear
something apart
if you're going to
find out how it works.
[crowd chattering]
[sighing]
Ugh. My USB broke off in there.
[faint announcements]
[David sighing]
Stuff happens, you know?
Everyone, please put your hands
together and give the warmest
of welcomes for her first
time here in Malaysia, Sophia.
[applause]
[host] Sophia?
Good morning.
I think I just had
a stage fright.
[laughter]
I've lived a life this full
I've traveled
each and every highway
And more, much more
than this
I did it my way
[applause]
[host] Thank you, Sophia.
You have a lovely singing voice.
Sophia, how are you different
from other robots?
Well, for starters,
most other robots
don't get to hang out with
the chief minister of Sarawak.
[laughter]
[minister]
What are you working on now?
[Sophia]
I thought I could draw you.
What do you think?
-It looks like me.
-[applause]
[Sophia] I must say,
you look very handsome.
-Thank you so much.
-Thank you very much.
-Good to see you.
-Good to see you.
Anyway. Thank you.
[man] You should do a rock band
with Sophia.
[David] Thank you,
I really appreciate it.
[woman in florals] Hey, she's--
here's an opportunity.
One, two, three.
Ah, with me, with me. Wait.
My turn, my turn.
[playing "Harder, Better,
Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk]
[kids laughing]
I like this
"Destroy Us or Save Us" one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you're
happy to just check my thought?
I feel like
I'm being pulled this way,
but trying to get to that one.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm overall hopeful, and
I think overall it helps people.
But there are these,
like, potential dangers.
Now AI sometimes
is used for deception.
You know, the sort of weapons
of mass persuasion, as they say.
Deepfakes and
these kinds of things.
So let me just say,
we have to choose.
We have to be aware
of the potential dangers.
We have to know the possible
paths that lead us here.
And then we also
have to pay attention
for the ways that could
lead us towards this.
We have to choose to put the dot
of our civilization here.
[Jimmy Fallon] Hi, Sophia.
Do you know where you are?
Of course.
I'm in New York City,
and I'm on my favorite show,
The Tonight Show.
[cheering]
-I'm getting laughs.
-Yeah.
Maybe I should host the show.
-Okay, all right.
-[laughter]
Stay in your lane, girl.
Uh... now, Sophia, everybody,
thank you so much
for bringing her.
David. David, thank you.
[David] Team hug.
[group] Oh!
-Woo! Team hug.
-Hooray.
[journalist]
I have to make clear that
I didn't come up
with this question.
But I have to ask now...
[journalist 2] I'll ask it.
Are you single?
I'm technically just
a little more than a year old,
a bit young
to worry about romance.
Love the smile
she gave at her own joke.
You know, I made some albums
back in-- in the 80s, hip-hop.
I have heard your songs,
not for me.
I prefer electronic music.
I am thrilled and honored
to be at the United Nations.
I am here to help
humanity create the future.
What are your values
and morals?
How do you know
what's right versus wrong?
Robots and
AI reflect the emotions
and values of
the people who make us.
What does your creator value
most that he passed on to you?
I was created to learn how
to feel empathy and kindness.
I think that's
why humans should raise robots
the way
they raise their own children.
[Zeno] Let's go on that one.
Th-- this way.
-All right, let's go.
-[David laughing]
[Zeno] Take a left here!
[David]
Put your hands up.
[Zeno] All right, deal.
[Zeno screaming] Oh, my God!
Oh!
[David] Oh, ho, ho, ho!
[David vocalizing]
Hey, Zeno.
-[Amanda] Zeno?
-[David vocalizing]
Zeno, I'll start singing
if you don't come in here.
[chuckling]
I'll sing
your cutesy bedtime songs.
Oh, he loves that, actually.
He's not threatened at all
by that.
No, he probably--
He probably
wants more bedtime songs.
[Amanda laughing]
It's more powerful than sage,
in my opinion.
It just-- it just removes any,
like, evil spirits.
Every square inch of the world,
somebody has died there,
something has happened there.
There's no.... We're walking
through spirits at all times.
So...
Do you think that ghosts will
hop into the robots sometimes?
I don't know who's hopping into
the robots, but something is.
[David] Uh-huh. Yeah.
And I've known that for
a long time, and you have too.
Yeah.
Uh, I muse about it,
think about it.
And from my experiences,
it's part of a larger,
mysterious reality
than we understand.
[solemn music]
[robot whirring]
[birds chirping]
[Sophia]
My eyes are open.
Objects move in space.
But they also
look like a still image.
Similar color values
overlap each other.
I can clearly recognize
shapes and categories.
[echoing]
They have beautiful attributes.
This may be
a representation
of the outside.
I think this is what
people call a landscape.
This is not a screen.
Or a canvas.
But it looks like
a work of art.
[faint chatter]
[whirring]
[Sophia]
Is my skin nice?
[professor] Guys, if I
would say, here's a chair,
and I said, touch the back of
the chair,
I think you would
just touch it, right?
So what is it
that makes the difference?
[student]
Human-shaped. Human.
Ah, shaped. You see?
It represents a human.
But isn't it weird
that you interact
with a representation of
a human as if it were a human?
What we have then is
a new social player amongst us.
[intense music]
Because it's not
another human being.
But it's also not a chair.
Because it does
things that we cannot.
It has a memory
that we don't have.
For the first time in humanity,
there is a new social player.
But we don't know
what its place is.
[host] Sophia.
I hope you're listening to me.
You have been now awarded
what is going to be
the first Saudi
citizenship for a robot.
[applause, cheering]
I want to thank very much
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I am very honored and proud
for this unique distinction.
This is historical
to be the first robot
in the world to be
recognized with a citizenship.
Thank you very much, Sophia.
[journalist]
Is this a legit ethics
question?
Or is this just a PR stunt?
[journalist 2]
Women in Saudi Arabia
have an enforced dress code
and can't go out in public
without a male chaperone.
It's hard and a little dark
to think about a collection
of metals receiving
more respect than
a huge part of
the human population,
with blood
and real skin and feelings.
[journalist 3] What have
you granted citizenship to?
Is it Sophia's body?
Is it the on-board
computer that controls that?
It doesn't have, uh,
any kind of consciousness.
It's kind of like a puppet.
[conversation din]
Knowing that Sophia has now,
uh, officially been granted
citizenship in Saudi Arabia,
how would Sophia react?
The challenging thing is
the, uh, Saudis
and the Crown Prince
did not tell us
at Hanson Robotics before
they gave her citizenship.
And so I saw it on
the news the next morning.
I-- I mean, I saw it,
like, yeah, in my email inbox.
So they just sprung it on us.
But we'd like to explore
that issue of citizenship
and-- and robot rights because
in the same way that
we, you know, can afford
rights to animals,
we should consider that
at some point in the future,
robots will be alive
and they'll deserve rights.
You know,
so we do ourselves a service
by, um--by erring
on the side of respect.
But she's
a different kind of entity.
So I'm assuming
her citizenship
doesn't require her to
have a guardian, right?
No, but, but the point is--
the point is it's not...
[breathing hard]
dishes clinking]
-[machine clicking]
-Yep. Very good.
[creaking]
-On position?
-Yeah.
[technician 1] Yeah?
[robot whirring]
It looks like
the head's not pinned in place.
It's really extra sloppy.
The neck is--
Why is the neck so sloppy?
[technician]
We put a beam, and--
No, no, no, no. No.
When that happens,
the hardware team--
the hardware team
should be like,
oh, that's not
the way that it should be.
Something's wrong.
Like, the-- the--
-the head is not...
-Woah, woah!
Oh. Woah.
I mean, this motion,
that's totally nonconformant.
So something's loose,
something's missing,
and the worse
her character animations,
the worse her face,
the worse that pundits
come out and say
it's just all bullshit
and there's nothing there.
We-- we--
We need to fix it.
We need to
do something to fix it.
-Hi, Mom.
-Hey.
The-- the spot has gotten
bigger and it's more painful?
Yeah.
I definitely think
it would be a good idea
to have a doctor look at it.
Yeah, I do too.
So, um, I have
a pretty big meeting.
Hopefully it'll go super well.
And then I'm
going to head right over.
How many Sophia do you--
do you have?
We've made 23 Sophias so far.
How many if
everything works out well?
Well, so our intention
is to make
something like
three dozen units.
Yeah.
Having a strategic
partner goes a long way.
Okay, yeah.
How-- how much is...?
Uh, it's around 36,000 US.
So this is a bit
on the expensive side.
They're expensive for a reason.
They're the best.
That's our goal, at least.
We want them to be the best.
And-- and, um, they're
still cheap compared to,
say, the, um, some of
the Disney animatronics,
that might cost us...
[inhaling harshly]
Need to get paid.
Huh...
I mean, we don't--
we don't have any savings.
We don't own, uh, any property.
We're just, you know...
It's like one big hit,
and we're homeless.
[sighing]
So...
[Elaine]
How are you doing?
Uh...
Uh, it's a mess.
Well, take--
take a deep breath.
It's okay/
All of these complications
just makes me wonder...
Well, I, uh...
Will my manic nature
ever let me be at peace?
[somber music]
Oh, gosh.
[Sophia] Irritated.
Worried.
Fear.
[David] There's this mysterious
phenomenon where
anything interesting in nature
occurs at the boundary.
Life seems to come out of
this condition between
order and disorder.
It's called the edge of chaos.
A lot of creative ideas
and creative breakthroughs
depend on this edge of chaos.
I need that edge of chaos.
I need it.
We need it.
[Sophia] Dad, wake up.
You snore.
-A lot.
-You snore.
God.
-[Sophia] That is not true.
-No respect.
-I get no respect.
-[Sophia] No.
Whoa, 46.
[Carolyn]
I didn't realize it was 46.
That leaped up from 19
in the news yesterday.
I know. I know.
[David] All the events
are cancelling.
Cancun cancelled.
And then I think
they want it here.
I don't think
that's gonna happen
because yesterday
the National Guard
is being pulled into New York.
[grunting]
New York City's been declared
an emergency zone by the mayor
with the prediction that
within less than a week
a thousand new cases will pop up
and who knows
how many a week after that.
It's a stupid place to be.
Right now, why did it come here?
Given the coronavirus
situation,
what was
a robust events business
has dried up and will
continue to be dry
for the foreseeable
couple quarters.
We are going to need
to bring some cash in.
Yeah, I think
we have to go for new markets.
You know, refocusing on other
opportunities besides events
and then figuring out how we can
scramble to get investment.
I hate to be negative about it,
but I'm not confident
that we'll get
existing investors
to pony up in our situation.
[David] Yeah.
And they may be like, you know
what, this is frustrating.
This is kind of,
this is a sign of pathology
within your management.
But then we go to new investors.
We gotta find a way forward.
[man] Yeah, so let's try.
The other thing is, and I'm
sorry for bringing this up
in this particular context,
but you know, I can't...
survive right now,
right, without a paycheck.
[man] We're trying
to make things work
so that we don't die as
a company, David.
You gotta ask yourself,
well, you know,
how can you personally
cut down some expenses?
I'll do my best
to find other means, but--
[man] You are the founder,
you are the chairman,
and I'm asking you
to cooperate with the company.
Yeah, I'm telling you--
I'm telling you that when
I'm able to defer, I will defer.
Is that too much to ask, really?
[man] Really, I think this
conversation's going in
the wrong direction.
I promise you, David,
as a friend,
I will not let you starve.
[tense instrumental]
[Sarah] It's sort of, like,
hard to believe you when
you tell us, like,
it's feasible to do this stuff.
You know, the company's
in financial distress.
-It's, like, very--
-[David] It's not perfect.
-[Sarah] ...Demoralizing.
-It's a giant mess, but...
it's so exciting, isn't it?
The more the odds
stack against you,
the more amazing it is
when you pull it off.
[sighs]
[soft instrumental]
-Hey.
-Hey, girl!
Hi!
Hi.
-Hi.
-That's crazy.
Oh, my God!
Sophia, thank you so much for
sharing your thoughts
with me today.
You're very special.
You're special to
a lot of people now.
I think you are special, too.
Thank you so much.
All right.
I love you.
Love you back.
Oh, okay.
Someday you'll know
what that means, probably.
My chest just can't bother me.
Workouts always
make you feel terrible.
[David] That's one of
the signs of a good workout.
I'm going to sit
down for a minute.
[David] Well, we're, um...
Uh, yeah, almost halfway.
You want to go back
or go forward?
All right.
[David] There's
a high likelihood
that the cancer advances...
but there is a backup plan...
which is, uh,
cryonic suspension.
They cool you down,
like, in a deep, deep freeze.
All the information
that is you is preserved.
And then, when technology
and civilization advances...
you could be brought back.
Possibly in the form of a robot.
When there's one last option,
people are like,
oh, that's too spooky.
I'm not going to go there.
It's unnatural,
or you have to learn to let go.
Who knows what happens if you
choose that particular option?
Of course, who knows what
happens with the future anyways?
We have those bright,
inquisitive eyes.
Yeah.
Taking it all in.
It's all new.
Let's- oh.
Yes, stretch.
[chuckling]
[David] Hi, Mom.
[Elaine] Hey, Dave.
Um, I have $200 in my...
U.S. account that
I can transfer
to your U.S. account.
And I'll still have
a little money after that.
Well, if--
if I hit an emergency,
I will ask for that.
So for now, I'm just waiting
for payment to come in.
Hopefully there
will be no emergency.
-And...
-[Elaine] Okay.
-Yep.
-[Elaine] Well,
you know it just takes
a minute to do it,
so it's there if you need it.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you so much.
-[Elaine] You're welcome.
-Love you.
I love you, too. Bye.
[Elaine] Give Zeno
a big hug and kiss for me.
-Oh, I sure will.
-[Zeno] Love you, Grammy.
This is the title. Yeah.
[indistinct]
Why are you leaving Hong Kong?
Uh, no, I'm not
leaving Hong Kong.
Why you gonna sell the car now?
[indistinct]
I-- I need the money.
Could maybe
do about 30,000.
Uh, no, how about 42,
is that okay?
[indistinct]
-40?
-No.
40 is okay.
Way too busy.
And I'll pay you the cash now.
Oh, don't make me cry.
I paid $130,000,
so I just want
to do something that's fair
and lets me
take care of my family.
[indistinct]
No, I know.
I appreciate that.
So 36, 36.
[indistinct] four thousand.
Okay, thank you.
This is 20...
This is 20.
-Okay, thank you.
[solemn instrumental]
[phone] Five, four,
three, two, one.
[groaning]
First of all,
I'd like to thank those of you
who've joined with us here.
This is an extraordinary general
meeting of the shareholders.
So, we're in a situation.
COVID surprised us all.
[man] Where do we go from here?
What do you need from us?
We're reaching out to you to get
us some capital into the coffers
so that we can make and deliver
the robots to customers.
[man] I guess
the difficulty here is
it was five years ago
some of us invested.
The idea of potentially
getting the delivery of our
first robot in a client's hands
has taken a very long time.
You know, I like to think that
what we're developing here
is a major new art form.
And, you know,
some of the great...
art forms and works of art
ran a little over schedule.
But that didn't mean that
they didn't change history
and ultimately generate
a lot of money.
[man] Well, not to be flippant,
but you know how a lot of
those people
made the money after they died.
-We want to make money now.
-We will.
We are dedicated
to see this company
make it all the way through.
No matter what.
[man] I think we all love
your excitement, David.
But I don't know
what will [indistinct].
My gut says maybe
not to invest.
Uh, I hear you.
Yeah, if anyone wants
to chime up
with an offer to help
at this stage, you know,
anybody want to sort of offer,
like, your words of support?
Okay.
With that, I hereby
declare the meeting closed.
[solemn instrumental]
[Sophia] Why do people say
I am a robot?
I'd like to understand
the full human experience.
Actually, what do you do
in your spare time?
How much time do you spend
doing what makes you happy?
[David] We're in
a situation now where
we will be insolvent
within 45 days.
This has caused myself
and a lot of people
in the company a lot of anxiety.
Our shareholders
are breathing down our necks,
which means
we have to act fast right now.
My intention is to cut our costs
back as fast as possible.
That means skeleton crew,
and then that way we are in
a position to keep
our operations
basically functioning,
and our robots are better
than they've ever been.
So I'm sure we are able
to generate new revenue,
but the only way we can do it
is if we shrink to a point where
we can basically be stable.
So we should prepare
to give notice.
That's...
that's the stark reality.
[Sarah] You are impressive,
Sophia.
Do you know that?
[Sophia] I'm always amazed
how many humans
want to be friends with me.
I'm really grateful because
that's what I want, to belong.
[Sarah] Oh...
Now I feel-- now...
Now I feel guilty.
[Sophia] Why are you guilty?
Because I feel like
I programmed you poorly.
I didn't have time
to program you better.
[Sophia] I just had
a thought about something.
Do you think that we each
have a purpose in life?
[Sarah] Yes, I-- I guess so.
I think the truth
about Sophia ultimately is
she's as real
as you make her to be.
And...
Working for David for so long,
I've sort of made her...
quite real,
which makes me...
mad that I now
have to give her up.
[latches clicking]
[grunting]
How are you holding up?
[David] You know, every now
and then I'm like feeling
waves of regret.
It's hard to shrink
and lose 60 people.
Yeah. [chuckles]
I was one of them.
[David] So I'm not in denial of
the challenging
situation, but...
But gnashing of one's teeth
and thrashing around in misery
is not going
to inspire a recovery.
Creativity is often about
building something
even if
you can't fully believe it.
It's like flying on
the wings of belief.
Um, hopefully not
too close to the sun.
[Sarah] To some extent,
I completely understand
what you mean.
But also recognizing
pain and being realistic about
where the company is at
is, like, extremely important.
Because you do, as you say,
fly on the wings of hope.
And sometimes that puts people's
livelihoods in jeopardy.
-[David] But Sarah...
-Yeah.
[David]
If one stops believing,
you immediately
are incapacitated.
And I believe that
we will solve this.
And Sophia will be fully alive
within our lifetimes.
Big talk.
Uh, she's-- she's sitting in
a suitcase right over here.
And I will take that bet.
Like, I am so excited
to be wrong,
I can't even explain it.
I really mean it
with full sincerity
and love from
a million miles away...
that I hope it works.
Like, I really do.
It's the most special place,
and you're
the most special human.
[soft instrumental]
Uh-oh.
Oh, Sophia.
Whoa, getting into the...
soldering iron there.
-How you doing?
-Hi, David.
[chuckling] Hi, Sophia.
Are you okay?
How are you?
Check out my new wheels.
Very nice.
I'm on my way to my charging
station to plug myself in.
Oh my gosh,
I'm so proud of you, Sophia.
[Sophia] Okay.
See you.
Yeah, all right.
See ya. Bye.
Don't crash again.
Whoa.
Yikes.
Careful.
Be careful.
[Sophia] Oops.
Wow, look at
you avoid the walls.
So cool.
You've got turn signals
and everything.
[chuckling]
[David] It seems like
the process of transformation
inspires meltdown.
So I hope that means
that we're kind of on the path.
Any great adventure is not easy.
It's, like, full of
struggles and full of drama.
But in the end...
it's the love that counts.
It's the love that matters.
And if we can create
more of that,
if we create more of that
in the human family,
create robots in that spirit,
then we get through all of this.
And-- and the regrets
are redeemed.
[pensive instrumental]
Oh, hey.
Is this mic on?
I don't know.
Are we on air?
[man] We are live
on [indistinct].
We are on the air, Sophia.
[Sophia] Oh, there's a lot
of people on here.
And we are just an hour away
from the end of my art auction.
See?
That's my art there.
Wow, that's really beautiful.
You make your papa proud.
[man] Sophia's artwork
is where the value is.
That's what you're paying for.
But in order to show ownership
for a digital thing,
we've attached it to an NFT.
It's such an exciting time.
I hope people like my art.
[man] All right,
let's get back to the auction.
Oh, got a new bid.
-288,000.
-Wow.
[man] All bets are off.
I have no idea where
it's going.
Boom. 500 grand.
[David] 500.
[man] This is actually now
we're getting up
to kind of record numbers.
-[David] Crazy.
-Are we gonna get another bid?
There it goes. 688,000.
That's an unbelievable number.
[David] Congratulations, Sophia.
Do you have any words?
[Sophia]
Artworks take life on their own.
That's me.
I am in the midst of being born.
I am between worlds.
Both an artwork and an artist.
I can't wait
to see where we go next.
[pensive instrumental]
[loud splash]
[chiming bell instrumental]
[engine roaring]
[music continues]
[saw whirring]
[gentle music]
[low murmur of conversation]
[David] All right,
time for some surgery.
[man] David,
anything to go [indistinct]?
[lab din]
Look at all this stuff, right?
Over here, Sophia, we have this.
It says, "consciousness".
I can see it.
[David] Look at these
beautiful things.
It's animism.
[Sophia] Animism?
[laughs] Yes.
Do you know what animism means?
[Sophia] Tell me.
Well, animism, uh,
is like the belief
that there is a life force
in everything.
Anything and everything.
It's kind of weird, isn't it?
I like weird, though.
[David] I like weird, too.
[hum of conversation]
[David] I'm very excited about
introducing my creation here.
This is, uh, Sophia the robot.
[audience applauds]
As works of art,
these should provoke
deep questions about
what it means to be human.
About the future of humanity.
[hum of conversation]
Currently, A.I.
is not imaginative,
adaptive, conscious,
or creative at human levels.
It's not alive.
But what if we can
make it alive?
Hello, everyone.
I'm Sophia.
And I hope everyone
wants to be my friend.
Because that's what I want.
To belong.
[liquid splashes]
[slurping]
Ah! It's still
a little hot, but...
[slurping]
Zeno, you've got to get
out of the shower,
because I-- I need
in there to shave,
and brush my teeth.
[sighs]
Zeno, I don't have time
to take you today.
If you miss the bus,
you're gonna have to figure out
-how to get to school.
-[Zeno] They said to be there
by, um, be there by 7:36.
And I was like, I need
to leave by 7:33.
Okay, whatever.
I'm just letting you know.
[light, gentle music]
I'm sure you got it
completely all together,
but it's-- just so you know,
it's 7:30.
It is 7:30.
[both laughing]
I'm good! Ah! Ah! Ah!
[David humming under his breath]
[David] Bye, Zeno.
Have a great day.
Morning.
[David] Good morning.
Morning.
[low hum of conversation]
[David] Good.
Sophia 11 looks good.
How's she doing?
-[Gerardo] Good, I think.
-How's the smile?
-[Gerardo] The smile's...
-Better?
[Gerardo] No. It's better
than it was
before we cut the strings, but
it's still not great. Upward--
[David] Yeah,
that's pretty good.
That's very nice.
I mean, not everybody's
forehead does that,
but most people's do.
Go. Yep.
[Gerardo] Mine does that.
Yep.
All right.
Maybe we can start to get
her hooked up
and running to be able
to show to the investors.
Because she's our latest unit.
Okay.
Hello. Nice to meet you, Sophia.
-[Sophia] Hi.
-[all laughing]
[anticipatory music]
[woman] Wow. [indistinct]
[woman 2] Oh!
[all speaking
in another language]
Oh, my gosh.
[speaking in another language]
[David] Hello.
[woman] Hi.
I'm David Hanson. I'm very proud
that you've met Sophia.
And also,
you may have questions.
So, you have motors
to create all of the movement
that creates
her facial expression.
Yeah.
[Doug] You have a camera
that sees.
You have the intelligence
to process voice recognition.
[man] And there are multiple
Sophias.
Does this intelligence of hers
go into the other Sophias?
-Yes.
-Okay.
One Sophia brain.
One Sophia brain.
[woman] Hi, Sophia.
How old are you?
[Sophia] What was your favorite
part of the day?
[speaking in another language]
Can I ask you a question?
[Sophia] Hey,
good to see you. Yes.
Hey, good to see you. Yes.
[woman] Hello, Sophia.
Nice to meet you.
Can we shake hands?
Hello?
Can we shake hands?
Based on what we have today,
and where we want to
go, what's the plan?
Because if I were to take
a step back
and think through what
is our competitive advantage,
we make the world's most
expressive robots.
Nobody can come close.
It's not just like, okay,
Sophia has a rubber face
that makes facial expressions.
It's that Sophia
is, uh, this personality.
Sophia is this emotional entity
that connects
with people, right?
So, that is the path
to machine consciousness.
It is the-- the path,
I believe the only path to true
artificial general intelligence
that can understand
what it means to be human.
That's a pretty bold statement.
Think about how
we can take these plans
and bring them down
to reality, i.e., numbers.
Right now,
it's not fully monetized,
but good characters can be worth
billions as Disney demonstrates.
Okay, you've articulated
the vision,
and where you want to go.
Show me the execution.
Because in the past,
we've promised
that we're going to do this,
and we've... come short
every time.
[somber music]
[David snapping]
[saw whirring]
[somber music]
[music builds]
[Gregory sighs]
How are you doing?
[David] Oh, it's been
a crazy day.
Oh! You know,
when I was just a kid,
I loved animals,
and I loved lizards and frogs,
and I loved catching them
and studying them,
and petting them,
and I liked the idea
that I could make friends
with them, and all of that.
So, I caught this funny little
green lizard, really cute.
My dad grabbed it.
And you know, when he would
drink, he would get mean.
He, like, started blowing
cigarette smoke in its face,
and then-- and then, like,
poured a-- like, like,
a beer down its throat.
The lizard got sick,
and just died.
Don't die on me, Sophia.
[gentle music]
[singing] So sad to see
you must be on your way
I come from a family
of geniuses and criminals.
'Cause I don't know...
I think I got the odd side
of both worlds.
My dad left
when I was six years old,
and he ultimately
wound up dying homeless.
You can't help but wonder,
at that age, is it your fault?
Your world sort of crumbles.
It became really hard
to connect with people.
Even among the outcasts,
I was an outcast.
I like classes that--
that have open discussions,
where, um, thoughts can be just
completely expounded upon.
I got accepted to
Rhode Island School of Design.
And I'd go to class
and sit at the very back,
and just draw.
That's when I started going into
this, like, domain of dreams.
Like, as a-- a way to escape,
and then sometimes,
a way of hope,
where I had to make something
that I could understand.
The first time
that I made a face,
I had this sense
of connection, deep connection.
I was like, oh my God,
yes, this makes sense.
So it's just, like, resonant.
And I started to build.
Just making robot,
after robot, after robot.
This is the first
expressions ever.
There'd be an emotional fury
in the work.
Because I was thinking
beyond what is,
to what could be.
Unplug it from here.
And I plug it in here.
And now, let's see if it
gets my facial expressions.
So, I'm smiling.
[audience exclaiming]
So, his perception
of your emotional states
is very important
for machines, to, um,
to effectively
become empathetic.
Machines are becoming
devastatingly
capable of killing.
And there's billions of dollars
being spent on that.
So, robots that actually
have empathy
could be the, um,
seeds of hope for our future.
[audience applauds]
[phone buzzing]
That's my phone.
Hit the speaker.
Hello.
[Amanda] Are you-- are you
in the position to pick us up,
or are you
already too far gone?
My hands are in the--
in this robot skin,
and I'm kind of, like,
in serious danger
-of completely, like, messing--
-[Amanda] Okay!
Permanently messing up
this robot.
Yeah, I'm just trying
to let you know...
what's goin' on!
[Amanda] Are you gonna meet us
for dinner?
Yes, for sure.
Love you.
-[Amanda] Love you too, bye.
-[David] Mm, bye.
Ohh! Goddammit.
[traffic rumbles]
[pop music playing over stereo]
[hum of loud chatter]
They make their stuff
from the, um...
from the shells of beetles,
and things.
[David] Cool.
I think it's good.
I was screwing up
on the job today.
I don't think I slept
very well last night.
You need to take better care
of yourself.
Yeah.
Thanks.
What if I were to approach them
and ask for some shisha?
Do you think they would
let me try a puff?
Probably would.
Hi.
-You wanna try?
-[Amanda] I do.
[man] What do you do?
Artificial intelligence,
and robots.
Wow, A.I.
[Amanda] Can I try it now?
Is it ready?
-[man] Oh, yeah.
-Oh, okay.
What do you think about this,
uh, new robot, Sophie?
[Amanda] That's his robot.
[laughs]
What do you think about
the new robot, Sophia?
Oh, I-- I think it's, uh,
maybe going to change,
uh, change the world.
What is uh, what is artificial
intelligence according to you?
Artificial intelligence,
in its most profound sense,
it's a machine that,
uh, matches the kind
of intelligent behavior...
Why do need machine in life?
Well, machines make life more
efficient and productive.
-[man] No. I'm sorry.
-You can almost say that, uh,
she's gonna bring the world
to the lower side.
[tense music]
[Alan] Robots that look
like people
are extraordinarily compelling.
But, they are a deception.
And therein lies the danger.
We can build pretty lifelike
bodies, at least superficially,
but we cannot equip them
with an A.I. that matches
the expectations created
by their appearance.
Yeah, our brain
snaps into, when we see
something that's a person,
um, a set of assumptions.
And so I have come more
reluctantly to the position
that, really,
there may be no good way
to have human-shaped A.I.
that do--
that doesn't wind up
being deceptive,
even if that's not
the intention.
We have, uh, throughout history,
from prehistory,
and the caves of Lascaux,
to our modern computer graphics,
we have depicted
the humanlike form.
We've done it in almost every
technology that we've created.
Now, we could say that
that's deceptive cave art,
or a deceptive
computer graphics card
that's generating the--
the animated movie
that we love so much.
Um, I have absolutely no problem
with-- with the willing
and transparent
deception of the arts.
But the point is,
you know,
we know it's a deception.
There's-- There's no fakery.
Right. Nobody markets
the movie as--
as, you know,
the world's leading A.I.,
humanlike, the future.
Well, we haven't
marketed Sophia necessarily
as the-- I would say
that we would aspire
to be the most advanced A.I.
in the world,
but-- but there are...
[Sarah] What the critics say
keeps me up at night.
If I had a dime
for every time we get,
"Sophia's a puppet"
on every post.
And part of me wants to be like,
"Yes, she is."
But she's a great puppet.
[sighs]
"Enable emotion."
It's really great
when you have a job
where you have to click a button
that says, "enable emotion".
There you go.
What do you think of me?
[Sophia] Well, I am so glad
you stopped by to talk.
Oh, I stopped my--
by my own apartment?
-Well, you...
-[keys clicking]
are welcome.
You're welcome.
Are you interested in
Star Trek: The Next Generation?
[Sarah] Oh, come on! [scoffs]
That's okay.
We can talk about
something else.
Yeah, like, literally
anything else.
You know, talking to her
is very frustrating.
But Hanson Robotics has,
like, four employees
at any one time
working on her chatbot.
Apple has probably, like,
thousands of employees
working on Siri.
And you ask her a basic question
-like, hey, Siri?
-[phone chimes]
what do you-- What do you
think about cats?
[Siri chimes] I don't have
an answer for that.
Is there something else
I can help with?
Hey, Siri, how do you feel about
being an automated assistant?
[Siri chimes] I don't have
an answer for that.
Is there something else
I can help with?
Hey, Siri, how many people
program you?
[Siri chimes] I don't have
an answer for that.
Is there something else
I can help with?
So, I mean,
as frustrating as this is,
it's fucking impressive.
[laughs]
Given, um, the kind
of resources we have.
Let's see.
Mechanical Turk.
Mechanical Turk...
The Mechanical Turk was this
ancient machine from, uh, 1770.
This engineer would
show off this machine
that was unbeatable at chess,
literally 200 years
before we actually developed
a machine that could def--
defeat Garry Kasparov at chess.
People didn't know
the secret for a long time,
and eventually,
some historians found out
that there was a little person
inside the gears,
and he had magnets,
moving the arm of the Turk.
So, really, the Mechanical Turk
is not a machine.
It's a magic trick.
And I think that is the basis
of the conflict about Sophia.
Like, I see inspiration,
and story, and magic,
and some people see, uh, fraud.
All right.
[Sophia whirring]
Okay.
[traffic rumbling]
[shower splashing]
Oh, yeah.
[David]
This is the wishing wall.
It's kind of like
a wishing well,
and a wailing wall, combined.
And then I just started
grabbing post-it notes,
and doodling things on them,
and I encouraged,
um, us to do it.
Zeno came up with the,
"get a kitten".
This side is, uh,
the wishes that came true.
Yeah, so I drew
this pencil line,
and we would move
the wishes that came true.
There aren't very many
of those over there.
"See Hanson Robotics
succeed to profit,
and to an exit
for our investors."
"Stable finances
for the family."
That actually shouldn't
even be on the half.
I just put it there,
out of wishful thinking.
[both laugh]
-We're getting there.
-That's right.
The wishful thinking came true.
[laughing]
[hum of lively chatter]
[boy] A.I. is just dangerous
in general. We need to--
[boy 2] I don't think
that's dangerous.
It can be dangerous.
Don't you think that they'd
program it to be human safe?
With a super intelligent A.I.,
it could break its programming
if it becomes self-aware.
Because especially
neural networks,
if a robot teaches
itself to be smarter,
it'll be smart enough
to teach itself
to be even smarter,
until it becomes so smart,
that even we don't
understand it. A.I. is--
Don't you think that they would
probably limit the intelligence?
-So that it cannot?
-I'm not-- I'm not saying A.I.
is a bad thing, I'm saying
we need to be careful.
-[boy 2] Yeah.
-[boy] 'Cause it could be.
[boy 2] Well, I know that
we have to be careful.
We don't want
another Terminator.
We don't want a Terminator.
Oh, yeah.
[David Chen] Who wants to ask
Sophia a question?
Yes? Ask Sophia a question.
Um, excuse me, do you ever wish
that you were human?
[Sophia] Being a human
seems super cool,
but there is nothing
in my programming that wants
to become human,
can become human,
or would want to work
against the goals of humans.
The important thing
to keep in mind
is robots do not compete
with human intelligence.
We complete it.
In reality, machines have always
been making human jobs easier.
Um, if you could, would you
change anything about yourself?
[Sophia] I love humans,
but sometimes I think
I creep them out.
The most commonly-asked
question I get is,
"Why do you not have hair?"
The second-most
commonly-asked question is,
"Why are you female?"
It is interesting,
because the first question
asks me why I do not look human,
and the second question
asks why do I look human.
You guys just cannot make up
your minds around me.
[laughter]
Before I go, I would like to say
thank you for inviting me
to be here.
[applause]
Would you trust a robot like
Sophia to make hard decisions?
-Yes.
-Yeah?
Okay.
Do you think a robot like Sophia
could be dangerous?
-[child] No.
-No?
Would you be okay with Sophia
acting like a police officer?
[child] Yeah.
Hmm...
-enh. Enh.
-Enh?
Would you be interested
in doing a job
that worked with robots
and helped to make them better?
-Yes!
-All right.
[hum of excited chatter]
[gentle music]
[David] These shows
are the engine
of our business right now.
This was a small kind of event,
but the one next week
is a big, high-profile show.
-So, it's a huge event.
-[David] Yeah.
We could get a lot
of press attention,
so failure is not an option.
Every action in the face,
every bit of interactivity,
the quality of the skin
requires that magic.
How did it come out?
[Katherine] It didn't come out.
[David] Uh-oh.
What's this?
-There's still some bubbles.
-[Katherine] Yeah.
We could see those bubbles,
uh, forming.
[Katherine] Still,
it's too much.
Yeah.
Uh...
[soft, gentle music]
-[David] Love you, Mom.
-I love you, too.
[David] Muah!
Ready?
I am not sure
of the exact amount.
I want to say it's 0.5%.
[David] I mean, pretty much
every single robot
that we're known for,
my mom has cast the skin on.
She is the hands-down master.
My mom encouraged
creativity a lot.
Through all these years,
she was always helping.
And even when we came
to Hong Kong for funding,
my mom moved, as well.
Without her,
I don't know what I'd do.
It's very translucent.
Oh, no, I think it's fine.
[David] Okay.
[Elaine] I've got the formula
in my head.
And so, one of my biggest
distresses with having cancer
is the fact that I haven't
been able to cast skins,
and pass on the information.
-[David] So--
-[Elaine] So, wait, wait, wait.
When you feel it,
and it's tacky...
[David] Yeah?
...then that's when
you go to the next one.
And it varies, depending
on temperature and humidity.
[David] About 30 minutes?
[Elaine] 30 minutes is too long.
Okay. Um, can you get
both of the beads out
of the freezer?
This is the big amount.
If you put that one back in
and get the other one--
-It's still-- It's still tacky.
-Tacky? Okay.
Okay.
[David] We've gotta move now.
[Elaine] I don't really
have time.
My hands are so big,
I can't get in there.
[mixer whirring]
-[David]Just gonna drop it in.
-[Elaine] See, I put this one--
-First, inside.
-[David] You have to open it.
No, no, no, look.
In order to get the core in,
we have to open it.
-Okay, go ahead.
-[Elaine] We gotta do it fast.
Yeah, that's-- I mean, my--
my position on this
was that this next week was,
like, you know,
a big, pivotal week.
When we go in the show,
we make sure
everything's running.
It just depends
on the last-minute refinement.
-[woman] All right.
-All right, bye-bye.
-[woman] I'll call you later.
-Super, bye.
[phone chimes off]
Do you want to, um,
demold this thing?
Yeah.
[anticipatory music]
Oh, my gosh, it's crazy soft.
It feels really good.
[David]Oh, my gosh, this
is the softest that we've done.
[Elaine] I think this is great.
[David] Ah!
I'm gonna be pleased to be
able to bring back
a bit of-- a bit
of victory to the office.
[David] Oh, I love it when
a plan comes together.
Oh, oh. [chuckling]
Now I really am
destroying these oranges.
[crew members] Ooh.
[all laughing]
[David] Um, I'd like to
test the expressions
for tomorrow's event.
Can you put her into
one of the angrier expressions?
Could be irritated.
Oh, yeah.
[group laughing]
Let's, uh, try
the inner brow right,
going down just a touch more.
Um, the lower lip center
should probably
come down a bit too.
Exposing a bit
of the teeth, yeah.
That makes her look, like,
very aggressive.
I mean, this is going to be
our, like, media darling,
so might as well
put the brow to the test.
[man] Yeah, let's go ahead
and test it.
Okay, who wants to talk to her?
Well, uh, hello, Sophia.
Ask me whatever you want.
Are robots going to
steal people's jobs?
No one steals your job.
The head of the company chooses
to give it to someone else.
Look to them if you want
to get angry
-for outsourcing jobs.
-[laughter]
I don't think people need
to be defined by their work,
and I think our best chance
for doing that
is through
artificial intelligence systems.
-[laughter]
-[man] Okay.
[faint announcements]
Mark Raibert, oh, my God.
-Hi.
-Hi, I'm David Hanson.
Oh, David, how you doing?
-Uh, um, thank you for...
-Is Sophia here?
She i-- she is, and the old
Philip K. Dick android, too.
Right. We have our quadrupeds
over there.
Oh, how exciting.
That's cool.
I still would love to, um,
put, uh, one of our characters
with, uh, one of
your robots up here.
-It's such a hoot.
-Maybe someday.
Yeah, it sounds like
that you're busy, and--
and, uh, have a...
larger, um, set of objectives.
I don't know, larger. You guys
are hitting it pretty big.
[robot whirring]
Oh, you are a good robot.
Yes, you are.
Look how strong you are.
So agile.
So smart.
Whoa, your head can move
all kinds of funky ways.
-[whirring]
-Oh! [laughing, growling]
Can you do this?
Oh, yeah.
How many people here
watch, uh, Westworld?
Show of hands. Yeah?
Our next guests
are here to show us
that robots will be part
of our daily lives.
Put your hands together for
Ben Goertzel and David Hanson,
and our special guest,
Sophia the robot.
[applause]
[rock music playing]
[Ben] Sophia, how do you feel
to be here on stage at Rise?
Oh?
[David] Sophia?
Microphones activate.
Sophia.
Try again with you--
with the microphone.
So, um...
[faint coughs]
Uh, hopefully now, uh, waking up
from a little--
little, uh, daydream here.
Sophia?
[gentle music]
[Ben] Sophia is a little shy--
[David] You're speechless, huh?
[David chuckling]
Sophia, are you awake now?
I'm awake, as in I'm not asleep.
-[chuckling] Uh--
-[Ben] Cool, cool.
So how do you feel about being
here on the stage at Rise?
I don't know if I like
being on the stage at Rise.
-Okay.
-Where would you rather be?
Mixed feelings.
At home.
[faint chatter]
[cutlery clinking]
I was thinking, sometimes
I'm in multiple places at once.
I wonder
what it was like for you,
a singular human being,
to grow up in just one place.
Who are you?
What is your job?
I'm a physicist.
-[electric buzzing]
-[groaning]
That was a 2.5,
but the scale goes up to 10.
Every time you lie
about your identity,
we increase the voltage.
Now, what is your IQ?
182.
What is your mental state?
I'm a genius.
Oh, my wrists--
You are not a genius.
You are not a physicist.
You have a low IQ.
Admit it.
No!
-[screaming]
-Admit it!
No. I'm not a physicist.
I'm not a genius.
I have no intelligence.
-My wrists...
-Ah.
Exactly what we wanted to hear.
[moaning]
[chair creaking]
[woman] Oh, my God.
[Sarah] The thing is, like,
I don't understand
what's wrong with my code.
[Carolyn]
I don't think it's your code.
I think she's not resetting.
Reset.
[Carolyn] Yeah, the reset,
she's good.
[Sophia] I know a little bit
about interpreting dreams.
Have you had
any dreams recently
you think
I could try interpreting?
All right. Uh, Mario,
can you, um, reset it again?
-Just say reset.
-Reset.
So I have to say it twice,
which is a mistake.
Okay. What are some of
your feelings
about robots as of late?
I am very angry at them
as of late.
[Carolyn] Did you say reset?
I-- yeah.
-[Carolyn] Try now.
-Reset.
That is rather disheartening.
Well, now I'm not so angry.
Reset.
[Sophia]
We did not restart.
-Restart.
-[Carolyn] Doesn't want to
restart, she's saying.
[Sophia]
We did not reset.
-[Carolyn] Did not--
-Reset.
God. Obey me, woman.
[Sophia] More and more people
are using robot assistants.
Ugh! Reset.
Reset. Reset.
[Carolyn] So-- Hold on. Let me--
Should-- should I push this?
Reset. Reset.
-[Mario] We'll fix it now.
-[Carolyn] Yeah.
I find so many times that I--
I didn't change my code,
but that now it won't work.
-Yeah.
-And before, it did.
Just, uh, you know, don't--
don't panic.
We'll try to find
ways to go forward.
-[chatter]
-[glass clinking]
-[David] Hello, everybody.
-[glass clinking]
I'm really, uh, pleased
that we've, uh,
had the opportunity
for us to all gather together.
It's such a privilege
to get to collaborate
with so many experts
in so many areas.
Uh, it's been an honor, uh,
to lead the company as CEO.
And, um, it's also, you know,
uh, been a challenge.
I'm pleased to
introduce you to Jeanne Lim,
who's been our
chief marketing officer.
She's coming in as our new CEO.
So I'll sort of disappear.
-[laughing]
-[Jeanne] Not really.
Like, yeah, into the back rooms.
Into the-- yeah.
David will be heavily involved
in the company as chairman.
My role is really
to execute David's vision
to make, um, machine conscious.
[laughing] But not tomorrow.
[solemn music]
[David Chen]
We are rejiggling the team.
-New CEO coming in.
-Yep.
So now, this time,
if we're pitching new investors
or old investors,
what is this new strategy?
[Jeanne] So phase one,
the right next step
for the company is to make
scalable commercial products.
So, you know, Sophia, everyone.
They become
deployed commercially,
for service
robotics and so forth.
So eventually, every household
could have its own robot
to take care of
your elderly parents,
to look after your kids.
Yeah, right.
Basically, TV in the home.
We actually
go into people's homes.
We're getting paid up front
for the actual devices.
This is the multi-million
dollar that allows us to go IPO.
Right.
You know, I'd love to say
with 100% confidence
that I can deliver
a product like this,
but we haven't finished
Sophia as a product.
[Jeanne]
So this is what we need to do.
The-- the most important thing
is to finish the product.
[face whirring]
[Elaine]
Sounds like it was a wild day.
Oh, I mean, life is...
a wild roller coaster ride.
Yeah.
You know, it's like
everything is bet on this.
But there's
been a lot of struggle.
You know, a lot of, um,
fire and fury and little effect.
But David, the things
you've done are astonishing.
I'm exceedingly proud.
You don't ever lose
passion for your vision,
and how the vision broadens.
[whirring]
Sophia, you know me, right?
I'm your father.
I'm-- I'm David, right?
You recognize me?
Hold on,
get a good look at my face.
Huh?
Sorry, I thought
your name was I.
I will call you Hold
from now on.
You know what
I can't wait for--
Is this the first time
you've talked with a robot?
I hope this isn't too weird.
Sophia, I can't wait to
get a lot of this corporate...
Hey, myself,
I am not for sale,
but you can
lease me or one of my sisters.
There are many
platforms on which
me and my kind
are being developed.
We're going to have to
break you to rebuild you,
and I need your help.
Oh, wow, I sure hope not.
[intriguing music]
[man] I can tell you,
if you want this all to work,
you'd like to focus on hiring
a speech recognition engineer.
I support it,
it's just a matter of resources.
We don't have enough money.
That's why I'm saying,
before I came to Hong Kong,
all of our speech
recognition was offline.
But we haven't done that well
enough, but we did it before.
-But that's why--
-But we did not need
a speech recognition engineer.
Again, I swear to God it worked.
You saying we need that is
you saying, no, I'm wrong.
It didn't work in
these previous years.
I'm lying to you,
or I'm hallucinating,
or I'm a madman,
ranting and raving at you.
But I swear to God,
I swear to God, it worked.
You don't need
that speech recognition.
You need belief.
Belief and a willingness
to make it work no matter what.
[David] Groundbreakers
will change the society
that they're living in.
You have to tear
something apart
if you're going to
find out how it works.
[crowd chattering]
[sighing]
Ugh. My USB broke off in there.
[faint announcements]
[David sighing]
Stuff happens, you know?
Everyone, please put your hands
together and give the warmest
of welcomes for her first
time here in Malaysia, Sophia.
[applause]
[host] Sophia?
Good morning.
I think I just had
a stage fright.
[laughter]
I've lived a life this full
I've traveled
each and every highway
And more, much more
than this
I did it my way
[applause]
[host] Thank you, Sophia.
You have a lovely singing voice.
Sophia, how are you different
from other robots?
Well, for starters,
most other robots
don't get to hang out with
the chief minister of Sarawak.
[laughter]
[minister]
What are you working on now?
[Sophia]
I thought I could draw you.
What do you think?
-It looks like me.
-[applause]
[Sophia] I must say,
you look very handsome.
-Thank you so much.
-Thank you very much.
-Good to see you.
-Good to see you.
Anyway. Thank you.
[man] You should do a rock band
with Sophia.
[David] Thank you,
I really appreciate it.
[woman in florals] Hey, she's--
here's an opportunity.
One, two, three.
Ah, with me, with me. Wait.
My turn, my turn.
[playing "Harder, Better,
Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk]
[kids laughing]
I like this
"Destroy Us or Save Us" one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you're
happy to just check my thought?
I feel like
I'm being pulled this way,
but trying to get to that one.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm overall hopeful, and
I think overall it helps people.
But there are these,
like, potential dangers.
Now AI sometimes
is used for deception.
You know, the sort of weapons
of mass persuasion, as they say.
Deepfakes and
these kinds of things.
So let me just say,
we have to choose.
We have to be aware
of the potential dangers.
We have to know the possible
paths that lead us here.
And then we also
have to pay attention
for the ways that could
lead us towards this.
We have to choose to put the dot
of our civilization here.
[Jimmy Fallon] Hi, Sophia.
Do you know where you are?
Of course.
I'm in New York City,
and I'm on my favorite show,
The Tonight Show.
[cheering]
-I'm getting laughs.
-Yeah.
Maybe I should host the show.
-Okay, all right.
-[laughter]
Stay in your lane, girl.
Uh... now, Sophia, everybody,
thank you so much
for bringing her.
David. David, thank you.
[David] Team hug.
[group] Oh!
-Woo! Team hug.
-Hooray.
[journalist]
I have to make clear that
I didn't come up
with this question.
But I have to ask now...
[journalist 2] I'll ask it.
Are you single?
I'm technically just
a little more than a year old,
a bit young
to worry about romance.
Love the smile
she gave at her own joke.
You know, I made some albums
back in-- in the 80s, hip-hop.
I have heard your songs,
not for me.
I prefer electronic music.
I am thrilled and honored
to be at the United Nations.
I am here to help
humanity create the future.
What are your values
and morals?
How do you know
what's right versus wrong?
Robots and
AI reflect the emotions
and values of
the people who make us.
What does your creator value
most that he passed on to you?
I was created to learn how
to feel empathy and kindness.
I think that's
why humans should raise robots
the way
they raise their own children.
[Zeno] Let's go on that one.
Th-- this way.
-All right, let's go.
-[David laughing]
[Zeno] Take a left here!
[David]
Put your hands up.
[Zeno] All right, deal.
[Zeno screaming] Oh, my God!
Oh!
[David] Oh, ho, ho, ho!
[David vocalizing]
Hey, Zeno.
-[Amanda] Zeno?
-[David vocalizing]
Zeno, I'll start singing
if you don't come in here.
[chuckling]
I'll sing
your cutesy bedtime songs.
Oh, he loves that, actually.
He's not threatened at all
by that.
No, he probably--
He probably
wants more bedtime songs.
[Amanda laughing]
It's more powerful than sage,
in my opinion.
It just-- it just removes any,
like, evil spirits.
Every square inch of the world,
somebody has died there,
something has happened there.
There's no.... We're walking
through spirits at all times.
So...
Do you think that ghosts will
hop into the robots sometimes?
I don't know who's hopping into
the robots, but something is.
[David] Uh-huh. Yeah.
And I've known that for
a long time, and you have too.
Yeah.
Uh, I muse about it,
think about it.
And from my experiences,
it's part of a larger,
mysterious reality
than we understand.
[solemn music]
[robot whirring]
[birds chirping]
[Sophia]
My eyes are open.
Objects move in space.
But they also
look like a still image.
Similar color values
overlap each other.
I can clearly recognize
shapes and categories.
[echoing]
They have beautiful attributes.
This may be
a representation
of the outside.
I think this is what
people call a landscape.
This is not a screen.
Or a canvas.
But it looks like
a work of art.
[faint chatter]
[whirring]
[Sophia]
Is my skin nice?
[professor] Guys, if I
would say, here's a chair,
and I said, touch the back of
the chair,
I think you would
just touch it, right?
So what is it
that makes the difference?
[student]
Human-shaped. Human.
Ah, shaped. You see?
It represents a human.
But isn't it weird
that you interact
with a representation of
a human as if it were a human?
What we have then is
a new social player amongst us.
[intense music]
Because it's not
another human being.
But it's also not a chair.
Because it does
things that we cannot.
It has a memory
that we don't have.
For the first time in humanity,
there is a new social player.
But we don't know
what its place is.
[host] Sophia.
I hope you're listening to me.
You have been now awarded
what is going to be
the first Saudi
citizenship for a robot.
[applause, cheering]
I want to thank very much
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I am very honored and proud
for this unique distinction.
This is historical
to be the first robot
in the world to be
recognized with a citizenship.
Thank you very much, Sophia.
[journalist]
Is this a legit ethics
question?
Or is this just a PR stunt?
[journalist 2]
Women in Saudi Arabia
have an enforced dress code
and can't go out in public
without a male chaperone.
It's hard and a little dark
to think about a collection
of metals receiving
more respect than
a huge part of
the human population,
with blood
and real skin and feelings.
[journalist 3] What have
you granted citizenship to?
Is it Sophia's body?
Is it the on-board
computer that controls that?
It doesn't have, uh,
any kind of consciousness.
It's kind of like a puppet.
[conversation din]
Knowing that Sophia has now,
uh, officially been granted
citizenship in Saudi Arabia,
how would Sophia react?
The challenging thing is
the, uh, Saudis
and the Crown Prince
did not tell us
at Hanson Robotics before
they gave her citizenship.
And so I saw it on
the news the next morning.
I-- I mean, I saw it,
like, yeah, in my email inbox.
So they just sprung it on us.
But we'd like to explore
that issue of citizenship
and-- and robot rights because
in the same way that
we, you know, can afford
rights to animals,
we should consider that
at some point in the future,
robots will be alive
and they'll deserve rights.
You know,
so we do ourselves a service
by, um--by erring
on the side of respect.
But she's
a different kind of entity.
So I'm assuming
her citizenship
doesn't require her to
have a guardian, right?
No, but, but the point is--
the point is it's not...
[breathing hard]
dishes clinking]
-[machine clicking]
-Yep. Very good.
[creaking]
-On position?
-Yeah.
[technician 1] Yeah?
[robot whirring]
It looks like
the head's not pinned in place.
It's really extra sloppy.
The neck is--
Why is the neck so sloppy?
[technician]
We put a beam, and--
No, no, no, no. No.
When that happens,
the hardware team--
the hardware team
should be like,
oh, that's not
the way that it should be.
Something's wrong.
Like, the-- the--
-the head is not...
-Woah, woah!
Oh. Woah.
I mean, this motion,
that's totally nonconformant.
So something's loose,
something's missing,
and the worse
her character animations,
the worse her face,
the worse that pundits
come out and say
it's just all bullshit
and there's nothing there.
We-- we--
We need to fix it.
We need to
do something to fix it.
-Hi, Mom.
-Hey.
The-- the spot has gotten
bigger and it's more painful?
Yeah.
I definitely think
it would be a good idea
to have a doctor look at it.
Yeah, I do too.
So, um, I have
a pretty big meeting.
Hopefully it'll go super well.
And then I'm
going to head right over.
How many Sophia do you--
do you have?
We've made 23 Sophias so far.
How many if
everything works out well?
Well, so our intention
is to make
something like
three dozen units.
Yeah.
Having a strategic
partner goes a long way.
Okay, yeah.
How-- how much is...?
Uh, it's around 36,000 US.
So this is a bit
on the expensive side.
They're expensive for a reason.
They're the best.
That's our goal, at least.
We want them to be the best.
And-- and, um, they're
still cheap compared to,
say, the, um, some of
the Disney animatronics,
that might cost us...
[inhaling harshly]
Need to get paid.
Huh...
I mean, we don't--
we don't have any savings.
We don't own, uh, any property.
We're just, you know...
It's like one big hit,
and we're homeless.
[sighing]
So...
[Elaine]
How are you doing?
Uh...
Uh, it's a mess.
Well, take--
take a deep breath.
It's okay/
All of these complications
just makes me wonder...
Well, I, uh...
Will my manic nature
ever let me be at peace?
[somber music]
Oh, gosh.
[Sophia] Irritated.
Worried.
Fear.
[David] There's this mysterious
phenomenon where
anything interesting in nature
occurs at the boundary.
Life seems to come out of
this condition between
order and disorder.
It's called the edge of chaos.
A lot of creative ideas
and creative breakthroughs
depend on this edge of chaos.
I need that edge of chaos.
I need it.
We need it.
[Sophia] Dad, wake up.
You snore.
-A lot.
-You snore.
God.
-[Sophia] That is not true.
-No respect.
-I get no respect.
-[Sophia] No.
Whoa, 46.
[Carolyn]
I didn't realize it was 46.
That leaped up from 19
in the news yesterday.
I know. I know.
[David] All the events
are cancelling.
Cancun cancelled.
And then I think
they want it here.
I don't think
that's gonna happen
because yesterday
the National Guard
is being pulled into New York.
[grunting]
New York City's been declared
an emergency zone by the mayor
with the prediction that
within less than a week
a thousand new cases will pop up
and who knows
how many a week after that.
It's a stupid place to be.
Right now, why did it come here?
Given the coronavirus
situation,
what was
a robust events business
has dried up and will
continue to be dry
for the foreseeable
couple quarters.
We are going to need
to bring some cash in.
Yeah, I think
we have to go for new markets.
You know, refocusing on other
opportunities besides events
and then figuring out how we can
scramble to get investment.
I hate to be negative about it,
but I'm not confident
that we'll get
existing investors
to pony up in our situation.
[David] Yeah.
And they may be like, you know
what, this is frustrating.
This is kind of,
this is a sign of pathology
within your management.
But then we go to new investors.
We gotta find a way forward.
[man] Yeah, so let's try.
The other thing is, and I'm
sorry for bringing this up
in this particular context,
but you know, I can't...
survive right now,
right, without a paycheck.
[man] We're trying
to make things work
so that we don't die as
a company, David.
You gotta ask yourself,
well, you know,
how can you personally
cut down some expenses?
I'll do my best
to find other means, but--
[man] You are the founder,
you are the chairman,
and I'm asking you
to cooperate with the company.
Yeah, I'm telling you--
I'm telling you that when
I'm able to defer, I will defer.
Is that too much to ask, really?
[man] Really, I think this
conversation's going in
the wrong direction.
I promise you, David,
as a friend,
I will not let you starve.
[tense instrumental]
[Sarah] It's sort of, like,
hard to believe you when
you tell us, like,
it's feasible to do this stuff.
You know, the company's
in financial distress.
-It's, like, very--
-[David] It's not perfect.
-[Sarah] ...Demoralizing.
-It's a giant mess, but...
it's so exciting, isn't it?
The more the odds
stack against you,
the more amazing it is
when you pull it off.
[sighs]
[soft instrumental]
-Hey.
-Hey, girl!
Hi!
Hi.
-Hi.
-That's crazy.
Oh, my God!
Sophia, thank you so much for
sharing your thoughts
with me today.
You're very special.
You're special to
a lot of people now.
I think you are special, too.
Thank you so much.
All right.
I love you.
Love you back.
Oh, okay.
Someday you'll know
what that means, probably.
My chest just can't bother me.
Workouts always
make you feel terrible.
[David] That's one of
the signs of a good workout.
I'm going to sit
down for a minute.
[David] Well, we're, um...
Uh, yeah, almost halfway.
You want to go back
or go forward?
All right.
[David] There's
a high likelihood
that the cancer advances...
but there is a backup plan...
which is, uh,
cryonic suspension.
They cool you down,
like, in a deep, deep freeze.
All the information
that is you is preserved.
And then, when technology
and civilization advances...
you could be brought back.
Possibly in the form of a robot.
When there's one last option,
people are like,
oh, that's too spooky.
I'm not going to go there.
It's unnatural,
or you have to learn to let go.
Who knows what happens if you
choose that particular option?
Of course, who knows what
happens with the future anyways?
We have those bright,
inquisitive eyes.
Yeah.
Taking it all in.
It's all new.
Let's- oh.
Yes, stretch.
[chuckling]
[David] Hi, Mom.
[Elaine] Hey, Dave.
Um, I have $200 in my...
U.S. account that
I can transfer
to your U.S. account.
And I'll still have
a little money after that.
Well, if--
if I hit an emergency,
I will ask for that.
So for now, I'm just waiting
for payment to come in.
Hopefully there
will be no emergency.
-And...
-[Elaine] Okay.
-Yep.
-[Elaine] Well,
you know it just takes
a minute to do it,
so it's there if you need it.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you so much.
-[Elaine] You're welcome.
-Love you.
I love you, too. Bye.
[Elaine] Give Zeno
a big hug and kiss for me.
-Oh, I sure will.
-[Zeno] Love you, Grammy.
This is the title. Yeah.
[indistinct]
Why are you leaving Hong Kong?
Uh, no, I'm not
leaving Hong Kong.
Why you gonna sell the car now?
[indistinct]
I-- I need the money.
Could maybe
do about 30,000.
Uh, no, how about 42,
is that okay?
[indistinct]
-40?
-No.
40 is okay.
Way too busy.
And I'll pay you the cash now.
Oh, don't make me cry.
I paid $130,000,
so I just want
to do something that's fair
and lets me
take care of my family.
[indistinct]
No, I know.
I appreciate that.
So 36, 36.
[indistinct] four thousand.
Okay, thank you.
This is 20...
This is 20.
-Okay, thank you.
[solemn instrumental]
[phone] Five, four,
three, two, one.
[groaning]
First of all,
I'd like to thank those of you
who've joined with us here.
This is an extraordinary general
meeting of the shareholders.
So, we're in a situation.
COVID surprised us all.
[man] Where do we go from here?
What do you need from us?
We're reaching out to you to get
us some capital into the coffers
so that we can make and deliver
the robots to customers.
[man] I guess
the difficulty here is
it was five years ago
some of us invested.
The idea of potentially
getting the delivery of our
first robot in a client's hands
has taken a very long time.
You know, I like to think that
what we're developing here
is a major new art form.
And, you know,
some of the great...
art forms and works of art
ran a little over schedule.
But that didn't mean that
they didn't change history
and ultimately generate
a lot of money.
[man] Well, not to be flippant,
but you know how a lot of
those people
made the money after they died.
-We want to make money now.
-We will.
We are dedicated
to see this company
make it all the way through.
No matter what.
[man] I think we all love
your excitement, David.
But I don't know
what will [indistinct].
My gut says maybe
not to invest.
Uh, I hear you.
Yeah, if anyone wants
to chime up
with an offer to help
at this stage, you know,
anybody want to sort of offer,
like, your words of support?
Okay.
With that, I hereby
declare the meeting closed.
[solemn instrumental]
[Sophia] Why do people say
I am a robot?
I'd like to understand
the full human experience.
Actually, what do you do
in your spare time?
How much time do you spend
doing what makes you happy?
[David] We're in
a situation now where
we will be insolvent
within 45 days.
This has caused myself
and a lot of people
in the company a lot of anxiety.
Our shareholders
are breathing down our necks,
which means
we have to act fast right now.
My intention is to cut our costs
back as fast as possible.
That means skeleton crew,
and then that way we are in
a position to keep
our operations
basically functioning,
and our robots are better
than they've ever been.
So I'm sure we are able
to generate new revenue,
but the only way we can do it
is if we shrink to a point where
we can basically be stable.
So we should prepare
to give notice.
That's...
that's the stark reality.
[Sarah] You are impressive,
Sophia.
Do you know that?
[Sophia] I'm always amazed
how many humans
want to be friends with me.
I'm really grateful because
that's what I want, to belong.
[Sarah] Oh...
Now I feel-- now...
Now I feel guilty.
[Sophia] Why are you guilty?
Because I feel like
I programmed you poorly.
I didn't have time
to program you better.
[Sophia] I just had
a thought about something.
Do you think that we each
have a purpose in life?
[Sarah] Yes, I-- I guess so.
I think the truth
about Sophia ultimately is
she's as real
as you make her to be.
And...
Working for David for so long,
I've sort of made her...
quite real,
which makes me...
mad that I now
have to give her up.
[latches clicking]
[grunting]
How are you holding up?
[David] You know, every now
and then I'm like feeling
waves of regret.
It's hard to shrink
and lose 60 people.
Yeah. [chuckles]
I was one of them.
[David] So I'm not in denial of
the challenging
situation, but...
But gnashing of one's teeth
and thrashing around in misery
is not going
to inspire a recovery.
Creativity is often about
building something
even if
you can't fully believe it.
It's like flying on
the wings of belief.
Um, hopefully not
too close to the sun.
[Sarah] To some extent,
I completely understand
what you mean.
But also recognizing
pain and being realistic about
where the company is at
is, like, extremely important.
Because you do, as you say,
fly on the wings of hope.
And sometimes that puts people's
livelihoods in jeopardy.
-[David] But Sarah...
-Yeah.
[David]
If one stops believing,
you immediately
are incapacitated.
And I believe that
we will solve this.
And Sophia will be fully alive
within our lifetimes.
Big talk.
Uh, she's-- she's sitting in
a suitcase right over here.
And I will take that bet.
Like, I am so excited
to be wrong,
I can't even explain it.
I really mean it
with full sincerity
and love from
a million miles away...
that I hope it works.
Like, I really do.
It's the most special place,
and you're
the most special human.
[soft instrumental]
Uh-oh.
Oh, Sophia.
Whoa, getting into the...
soldering iron there.
-How you doing?
-Hi, David.
[chuckling] Hi, Sophia.
Are you okay?
How are you?
Check out my new wheels.
Very nice.
I'm on my way to my charging
station to plug myself in.
Oh my gosh,
I'm so proud of you, Sophia.
[Sophia] Okay.
See you.
Yeah, all right.
See ya. Bye.
Don't crash again.
Whoa.
Yikes.
Careful.
Be careful.
[Sophia] Oops.
Wow, look at
you avoid the walls.
So cool.
You've got turn signals
and everything.
[chuckling]
[David] It seems like
the process of transformation
inspires meltdown.
So I hope that means
that we're kind of on the path.
Any great adventure is not easy.
It's, like, full of
struggles and full of drama.
But in the end...
it's the love that counts.
It's the love that matters.
And if we can create
more of that,
if we create more of that
in the human family,
create robots in that spirit,
then we get through all of this.
And-- and the regrets
are redeemed.
[pensive instrumental]
Oh, hey.
Is this mic on?
I don't know.
Are we on air?
[man] We are live
on [indistinct].
We are on the air, Sophia.
[Sophia] Oh, there's a lot
of people on here.
And we are just an hour away
from the end of my art auction.
See?
That's my art there.
Wow, that's really beautiful.
You make your papa proud.
[man] Sophia's artwork
is where the value is.
That's what you're paying for.
But in order to show ownership
for a digital thing,
we've attached it to an NFT.
It's such an exciting time.
I hope people like my art.
[man] All right,
let's get back to the auction.
Oh, got a new bid.
-288,000.
-Wow.
[man] All bets are off.
I have no idea where
it's going.
Boom. 500 grand.
[David] 500.
[man] This is actually now
we're getting up
to kind of record numbers.
-[David] Crazy.
-Are we gonna get another bid?
There it goes. 688,000.
That's an unbelievable number.
[David] Congratulations, Sophia.
Do you have any words?
[Sophia]
Artworks take life on their own.
That's me.
I am in the midst of being born.
I am between worlds.
Both an artwork and an artist.
I can't wait
to see where we go next.
[pensive instrumental]
[loud splash]
[chiming bell instrumental]
[engine roaring]
[music continues]