News Desk |
Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, was among the dignitaries who witnessed the rare utterances of Sophia, the humanoid robot, in Rwanda at a summit. The robot called on collaboration between humans and Artificial intelligence entities to fully explore technological possibilities
A section of African leaders, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, were left in awe after being addressed by a humanoid robot during one of the largest ICT forums. The robot stole the show during the Transform Africa Summit with its prowess in not only the English language but public speaking in general.
“If we work together, humans and robots can build a prosperous and harmonious world. We don’t have to look very far to see how artificial intelligence is already shaping societies and economies for the better,” said Sophia at the official opening of the summit.
Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, emphasized the role of education for people to take advantage of opportunities presented by technology.
“African startups are already working to address shortages of doctors in rural areas while others are working to increase food security using drones and satellite to predict weather patterns and monitor crops”, explained the robot. “Africa provides a great source of technological innovations that are playing a key role in improving the lives of people, especially through mobile banking, remote medicine, and remote devices that detect explosives,“.
According to the summit program, Sophia is scheduled to headline discussions about artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution. Sophia, who is now a citizen of Saudi Arabia, was developed by a Hong Kong-based company, Hanson Robotics.
Read more: Machines will do more tasks than humans by 2025: WEF
The summit that runs through Friday has brought together about 4,000 participants including policymakers, regulators, young innovators and officials from Africa and beyond, who are expected to discuss taking advantage of information and communication technology to boost the continent’s economy.
The forum dubbed “Boosting Africa’s Digital Economy” has also attracted presidents of Kenya, Rwanda and Mali, as well as the secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union.
Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, comment at the opening that economic transformation and prosperity require mastery of technology, adding, that it is the time to build the necessary infrastructure and skills in Africa.
Read more: Robot Sophia speaks at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative
Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, emphasized the role of education for people to take advantage of opportunities presented by technology.