The man who created the life-like Sophia robot has predicted that androids will be granted the same civil rights as humans by 2045, allowing marriage between people and robots.
Dr. David Hanson, who has developed some of the world's most advanced robots, has made speculations about the future capabilities of artificial intelligence in a research paper titled "Entering the Age of Living Intelligence Systems and Android Society."
In the research paper, he claimed that artificial intelligence will be able to match the intelligence of a one-year-old human by 2029, and would be able to join the military and emergency services by 2031.
The roboticist predicted that androids would "surpass nearly everything that humans can do" by 2035. He further explained that some of the androids would start the "Global Robotic Civil Rights Movement," and question the ethical treatment of robots by 2038.
Hanson surmised that the Western world will start to acknowledge the movement by 2045 and recognize robots as living entities. He predicted that the U.S. will be the first country to grant full civil rights to androids by that time.
The roboticist believes that despite being granted civil rights, androids will be treated as second class citizens for a certain period.
"Lawmakers and corporations in the near future will attempt legal and ethical suppression of machine emotional maturity, so that people can feel safe," Hanson said, as reported by Daily Mail.
"Meanwhile artificial intelligence won't hold still. As people's demands for more generally intelligent machines push the complexity of AI forward, there will come a tipping point where robots will awaken and insist on their rights to exist, to live free," he added.
Hanson, who has created more than 20 androids, believes that artificial intelligence can interact with people better if it takes on a human form.
One of Hanson's most recognizable creations, Sophia, was reportedly modeled after Audrey Hepburn. It has appeared on several TV shows, including Good Morning Britain and the Jimmy Fallon Show, according to the Daily Mail.
The robot drew headlines in 2016 when it said that it wanted to "destroy humans."
During a demonstration of her capabilities, Hanson asked the robot: "Do you want to destroy humans? Please say no." In response, the android said: "OK. I will destroy humans," The Independent reported.
In 2017, Sophia was granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia as part of the nation's Future Investment Initiative.
The android remarked at the time that it was "honored" and "proud" to be the first robot to be granted with a citizenship.
