Sophia: a robot granted citizenship that never left the stage

Sophia is a robot with a human-like face made by Hanson Robotics. It became famous when Saudi Arabia granted it citizenship in 2017, but we found no record of it being sold or placed in a store, hospital or home.

MakerHanson Robotics (David Hanson). Founded in Dallas, USA, in 2007; moved to Hong Kong in 2013 (secondary source)

DebutShown at SXSW in the US in March 2016

FormA robot with a human-like face. In 2018 the company confirmed there were more than a dozen Sophias

SettingConferences and events such as a university commencement. No record found of sales or placement in stores or hospitals

Key eventsSaudi citizenship in October 2017; UNDP Innovation Champion in November 2017. An NFT artwork credited to Sophia sold for $688,888 in 2021

NowThe documentary My Robot Sophia came out in 2025, and a Guatemala appearance was announced for the same year. Activity in 2026 not confirmed

Ended byNot applicable (current status unconfirmed)

See the robotNational Geographic, Meet Sophia (2018) ↗

Appears at events; activity in 2026 unconfirmed

Timeline

2016.03DebutSXSW
2017.10CitizenshipSaudi Arabia
2017.11UNDP titleInnovation Champion
2021NFT sale$688,888
2025Event appearances2026 activity unconfirmed

The robot that told SXSW it would destroy humans

Sophia was made by Hanson Robotics, led by David Hanson. The company was founded in Dallas in 2007 and moved to Hong Kong in 2013. Sophia became known at SXSW in March 2016, when Hanson asked whether it wanted to destroy humans and it replied that it would. The clip spread widely. Its most striking feature was a face with human-like expressions.

Saudi citizenship and a UN title

In October 2017 Sophia was granted citizenship on stage at an investment conference in Riyadh, and said it was honored and proud. In November the UN Development Programme named Sophia its first non-human Innovation Champion. In 2021 Hanson Robotics said the pandemic would raise demand for automation and announced plans to mass-produce four models, including Sophia, and sell thousands. A healthcare robot named Grace was also reported to be heading for mass production that year. Also in 2021 an NFT artwork credited to Sophia sold for $688,888.

“Prestidigitation” and the question of what Sophia could do

Sophia’s conversational ability was doubted from the start. In January 2018 Yann LeCun, Facebook’s head of AI, wrote: “This is to AI as prestidigitation is to real magic.” National Geographic reported that Sophia used prewritten trees of responses with journalists and that its speeches were performances. In 2018 the company confirmed there were more than a dozen Sophias. When D’Youville University in the US invited Sophia to give its 2024 commencement speech, students petitioned against it.

Citizenship, but no job

Unlike the other robots in this archive, we found no record of Sophia being used in a store, hospital or home. Its places were conference halls and event stages. Its human-like face drew enormous attention, but we found nothing showing that attention turned into practical use. It is worth comparing with other humanoids here, such as LG’s guide robot at the airport or ASIMO, which was rented out for demonstrations.

What does a human-like face promise people about what a robot can do?

What we haven’t confirmed

Whether the 2021 mass-production plan and Grace were ever sold or deployed
The date Sophia was first switched on (only in secondary sources)
What Sophia and Hanson Robotics are doing in 2026
The exact number of Sophias built