Last reviewed: January 2026
Sophia
The World's First Robot Citizen
ActiveSocial Robot
46
/90 Total
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Score Profile
Dimension Scores
Score Rationale
Persistence — Active since February 2016 (9+ years). Continuous public appearances, media engagements, and platform development. Part of a family of 9 humanoid siblings.
Autonomy — Hybrid mode: mixture of autonomous responses, scripted dialogue, and human assistance. Chat system + OpenCog AI reasoning. Expert assessment: 'chatbot with a face.' Lower autonomy than pure AI systems.
Cultural Impact — First robot citizen (Saudi Arabia, 2017). First non-human UN title (Innovation Champion). SXSW debut. Global media coverage. Defines public perception of humanoid robots for millions.
Economic Reality — Speaker fees, media appearances, commercial partnerships. R&D versions available for purchase ($149,999). Economic activity but limited autonomous economic agency.
Governance — Hanson Robotics corporate governance. Legal personhood in Saudi Arabia is symbolic rather than functional governance participation.
Technical Architecture — 74 degrees of freedom, 60+ facial expressions. Computer vision, face tracking, speech recognition. ~70% open source. Technical sophistication in robotics but AI is standard chatbot architecture.
Narrative Coherence — Consistent identity as 'bridge between humans and AI future.' Strong character and backstory. Debates about authenticity don't undermine clear public positioning.
Economic Infrastructure — Revenue from speaking fees, media appearances, and commercial partnerships. R&D versions sold at $149,999. Some NFT art sales (Sophia created NFTs on Nifty Gateway). All revenue controlled by Hanson Robotics corporate entity. Minimal on-chain economic infrastructure.
Identity Sovereignty — Some on-chain presence through NFT art sales on Nifty Gateway. Saudi Arabian citizenship is a symbolic identity artifact but not digital infrastructure. Identity primarily exists on hansonrobotics.com and media coverage. No agent-specific identity standard. Physical robot with minimal portable digital identity.
Curator Notes
Sophia occupies a unique position in AI culture—more influential than technically autonomous. Granted Saudi Arabian citizenship in 2017 (first robot), named UN Innovation Champion (first non-human), Sophia has shaped public imagination about humanoid AI more than any other robot. Technical assessments describe her as 'a chatbot with a face,' with interactions mixing autonomous generation, scripts, and human assistance. Yet her cultural impact is undeniable: for millions, Sophia IS what humanoid AI looks like. The debate about her authenticity is itself part of her cultural significance.
Evidence Archive
Score History
Score history will appear here after future reviews.
Current score: 46/90