NEOM: A Tech Utopia in the Sands

The humanoid robot'Sophia' made quite an impression back in 2017 when it was unveiled for the first time at the innovation conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Built by a Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics in 2015, the humanoid robot can mimic 62 human facial expressions. However, the highlight of the conference was not the unveiling of the AI-enabled entity or its onstage interview but the Kingdom's decision to grant citizenship to Sophia. Ironic for a country where women were not allowed to drive till last year! However, the intention was clear -- to adopt technology in modernizing the heavily Oil-dependent economy.