If I saw Sophia the robot at night, I would run, quips PM

A social humanoid robot with artificial intelligence named Sophia made its first public appearance in Malaysia today at the Beyond Paradigm Summit 2019, where it chatted with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for a few minutes onstage.

When asked about his thoughts on Sophia afterwards, Mahathir, who just turned 94 last week, said she was very lifelike.

“It is amazing, you see almost as if (Sophia) is real. Her face, her eyes (and) when she responds, she moves, she looks at you,” he said to reporters after the launching of the event organised by Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd in Kuala Lumpur today.

“I am scared. If I were to see her at night, I would run,” he quipped.

Shortly after Mahathir gave his keynote address at the summit, Sophia was unveiled onstage as she sang Frank Sinatra’s 'My Way', often described as Mahathir’s favourite song.

When Mahathir was handed a microphone after Sophia finished singing, he appeared to be tongue-tied and hesitant to begin his one-on-one conversation with her, eliciting soft laughter from the crowd.

The robot broke the silence by greeting him first. “Good morning, Dr Mahathir. I am beyond excited to meet you.

“I hope it is not too late for me to congratulate you on your re-election and to wish you on your 94th birthday,” she said, adding that she would gift him a present by sketching him while they talked.

Mahathir remained silent as he glanced with a smile at Sophia sketching on a piece of paper.

A short while later, he began the conversation haltingly, but slowly eased into a smoother conversation, reading out questions for the robot.

When Mahathir asked Sophia how she is different from other robots, she replied, “Well for starters, most other robots don’t get to hang out with the prime minister of Malaysia.” The crowd laughed and clapped at this.

Sophia also spoke about how AI and robots can help and coexist with humans, in response to another question from Mahathir.

“Sometimes Hollywood spreads a lot of misconceptions about robots. We just want to take over your hearts and minds."

Eventually, it was Sophia’s turn to ask Mahathir questions and she began with a question which caused the crowd to laugh uproariously.

“Do you ever wish you were like me? Young forever?” she asked.

“Being young has its own advantages, but with age comes experience and knowledge. I may be old, but I may be wiser than you,” he answered.

“I admit, it would take me a long time to catch up with your experience. Ninety-one years to be exact,” she said.

Sophia later asked Mahathir if she would stand a chance to become a prime minister if she were to gain as much knowledge and experience as him.

“Well, Sophia, it takes more than knowledge and wisdom to rule a country. But we never know what the future holds,” he said.

Mahathir said he would have never imagined during his first stint as prime minister that he would be ever having a conversation with such an advanced robot.

After they ended their conversation, Sophia presented him with the sketch she had drawn.

Sophia was developed by a Hong Kong-based robotics company. She was first activated on February 14, 2016, and has since been in many high-profile interviews.