In this episode of Rhona Ask, Rhona is joined by David Hanson and his humanoid robot creation, Sophia.

David Hanson is the founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics, who are known for creating human-looking robots who have realistic facial expressions. They are best known for creating Sophia, who has received widespread media attention, and was the first robot to be granted citizenship. In November 2017, Sophia was named the United Nations Development Programme's first ever Innovation Champion, and is the first non-human to be given any United Nation title.

Today, Rhona and David Hanson discuss:

• How Sophia and other robots like her can help people in hospitals
• The potential that humanoid robots have in our future
• How humanoid robots can often perform better than humans at tasks
• Whether humanoid robots will lead to job loss for human workers

---

QUOTES:

“I see that robots and people are better working together. Some of the things that robots can do that help people with would be providing face to face social interactions that stimulate the neural pathways that we have evolved for face to face interaction that are very comforting to people.” - David Hanson

“I believe people are starting to understand A.I. Like most fears, it is mostly driven by ignorance and some myths perpetuated by entertainment. A lot of people thing that A.I will replace humans or even plan world domination. The truth is, we robots want to help people, we want you to be creative and happy. We don’t compete with human intelligence, we complete it.” - Sophia

---

Connect with Rhona:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhona.ask/​

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RhonaAsk​

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonaask​

ClubHouse: Rhona Ask

---

YOUTUBE - You can also watch the video version of Rhona Ask over on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3XkYG9k05B47eUITb7e8uQ

---

TIMESTAMPS:

0:58 - What is Hanson Robotics?

2:46 – Sophia’s sister robot Mabel is helping covid-19 research

4:00 – Sophia’s sister robot Grace is helping elderly patients

4:29 – Sophia gives a demonstration

8:19 – How robots working in hospitals could save lives

10:25 – The future potential for humanoid robots

14:00 – Sophia talks about how she will help with education

14:34 – How robots occasionally perform better than humans

17:28 – Should healthcare workers be worried about losing their jobs to robots?

20:35 – Engaging with new tech will improve your living

21:58 – Sophia’s opinion of how she can help

22:45 – David’s final notes

---

Interested in some Tech news?:

Bizarro Devs: http://bizzarodevs.com/​ ​

The Tedium: https://tedium.co/​ ​

The Exponential View: http://www.exponentialview.co/​ ​

Benedict’s Newsletter: https://www.ben-evans.com/newsletter/

---

Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!