Social humanoid robot interaction in Kathmandu

Sophia, a humanoid robot with Saudi Arabian citizenship, speaks during the United Nation's innovation conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 21, 2018. Sophia, who is now a citizen of Saudi Arabia, is the most advanced robot with artificial intelligence developed by a Hong Kong based company Hanson Robotics. Sophia, a social humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics, addressed a conference on the theme'Public Services and Development' organised by the United Nations Development Programme, at Hotel Yak & Yeti, in Durbarmarg, Kathmandu, on Wednesday. Sophia started the speech with a joke on how the moderator was not like Nepali actor Anmol KC and when asked about her view on how artificial intelligence can help better public services in Nepal, she said, "the opportunities are endless," adding that AI can help improve the education sector, develop medicine, connect remote areas of Nepal to the centre, and help develop Nepal fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals. Similarly, in an answer to what she, as an AI can do, she claims that maybe she will be the first non-human to climb the Mount Everest.