In a first, humanoid robot Sophia delivers commencement speech [Video]

Perhaps in a sign of times to come, a humanoid robot delivered a spring commencement speech at a college in New York. 

In a move that generated split opinions, a popular artificial intelligence (AI) robot named Sophia spoke to over 2,000 attendees, including graduates, faculty members, and families, at the function organized by D’Youville University in Buffalo.

According to the university’s Facebook post, the development is an example of “embracing technology,” and the event was meant to represent an “intersection of technology and education.” 

Earlier, a section of students had marked their protest against the move through an online petition (“Replace D’Youville’s 2024 A​.​I. commencement speaker: Petition to Preserve Human Connection”) that received close to 2,000 signatures. 

The university officials claim the decision to bring in Sophia aligns with its theme for the year, AI.

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