The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) recently unveiled its first female humanoid robot ‘Sara’ who is specifically trained not to talk about sex or politics.
“Sara knows that she’s a girl, she’s 25 years old, she’s wearing Saudi clothing,” Elie Metri, the CEO of Riyadh-based QSS AI & Robots, told Business Insider on Sunday, March 24.
“She should be nice, not talking politics, not talking sex because we’re in Saudi Arabia. It shouldn’t go into those topics.”
Sara’s design embodies Saudi Arabia’s traditional values, wearing a modest abaya and using artificial intelligence to avoid controversial topics in line with societal norms.
Sara can engage in conversations with customers in both Arabic and English.
Using a pre-trained model, she can identify dialects, analyze phrases, and provide appropriate responses via text.
“Born from the innovative spirit of Saudi Arabia’s robotics community, Sara embodies a blend of cutting-edge technology and cultural significance,” according to the QSS website.
While Saudi Arabia’s first male humanoid robot ‘Muhammad’ tech launch, sparked online debates after he touched a female reporter’s back during the event.
Metri defended the robot, saying that he moved his hand and fingers slightly while speaking, and because the reporter was standing very close to him, he touched her jacket lightly.
“Sexual assault is totally different from a robot hand touching the jacket of a lady,” he said.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia is prioritizing its investment in robotics and artificial intelligence to establish itself as a global leader in this field.
