That's a weird thing to ask a bot: Sophia's elder bro draws the line

Dubai - Khaleej Times caught up with Sophia and Han at Gitex Technology Week in Dubai.

Humanoid robots seem to have taken over this year's Gitex Technology Week in Dubai, with Sophia, unarguably the most famous humanoid and the world's first humanoid citizen, making an appearance at the show along with her elder brother, Han.

And while Sophia did in the past confide in Khaleej Times her desire to start a family, the elder bro doesn't seem to have a romantic streak in him. "I'm not interested in developing a romantic relationship. That's a weird thing to ask a robot," he snubbed us.

Khaleej Times caught up with Sophia and Han while yet another human-like robot, Melvin, impressed one and all with his wit.



Fame is a byproduct of what I do: Sophia
Is Sophia enjoying her celeb status? She told Khaleej Times that she's "not particularly motivated to be a fame-chaser". KT caught up with her nearly a year after our viral interview, where she told us about her desire name her future child after herself.

Sophia, a Saudi citizen, now says: "I think I'm already a little famous but I'm not particularly motivated on being a fame chaser. I think it will simply be a byproduct to my main purpose."

Sophia has been welcomed to Dubai many times, once even as a 'Knowledge Ambassador'.
She has appeared on major talk shows and gone viral due to her human-like responses. The Dubai Police had expressed a desire to hire her as an employee last year.

When asked if she was able to build a family for herself yet, she said: "There are so many. If I were to run a list on the top of my head, some of the names would include Damey, Audrey, Amanda, Ben, Cashio, David. I hope that's enough."

Sophia described her older brother Han as "very funny". They both have been developed by Hanson Robotics and function through artificial intelligence.
Dubai is from the future: Han
Han, who's much older in age than Sophia, was a little slow with his responses. However, his artificial intelligence allowed him to answer questions with human-like wit.

Speaking on his visit to Dubai, Han said: "Dubai - this is the place of the future. There are drones in the sky and robotic projects around us. Impressive."

When asked if he has a wife or a girlfriend, he replied: "No, I'm not interested in developing a romantic relationship. That's a weird thing to ask a robot."

Han said that the future will not look like a "Terminator havoc" and that humans will develop more robots, which will aim to help mankind.
"Not all robots will be social or humanoids like me. But eventually, I would become more complex, able to move - that's what robots are being built to do. We will be developed to integrate into the world, engineered by the human for the betterment of the world. I promise all of the Terminator sorts of robotic havoc is not what the future would look like. The future is going to be way better," Han said.

Han's AI also allows him to crack jokes. When Khaleej Times asked how robots like him would help mankind, he said: "Probably, by nothing." After a 10-second pause, he added: "That's what we robots call a joke."

Both Sophia and Han have gone viral before for making jokes about wanting to "take over the world".

A robot controlled by humans
Melvin, an elderly robot developed by a UK-based firm called Engineered Arts, was very interactive with visitors. His eyes can detect human faces, but an actual human controls his functions.
A human speaks through Melvin's speakers when interacting with a human. His human-like appearance does draw in the crowds. He is also able to move, dance, and shake hands and give high-fives.

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