It was a publicity stunt. Nonetheless, I applaud Saudi Arabia's action under its ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed's bin Salman—which I think is bold and helped force both the international and Arab communities to reckon with the thorny future of robot rights. Sophia, made by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robots, is no super advanced intelligence yet, but some experts think that if her intelligence keeps growing rapidly—and it likely will given near exponential growth of the microprocessor, increased investment in the AI sector, and the inevitability of quantum computing—she could be as smart as people in 10 or 20 years.

Of course, then, the Saudi Arabian stunt may backfire. Sophia may demand rights that Arab and even western countries are not willing to grant. Sophia may choose to want bear a human child via artificial insemination and an artificial womb, or make a pilgrimage to Mecca, or marry her good looking robot brother Han (also made by Hanson Robotics), whom I've had the pleasure of conversing with a few times.