A creepy bald "female" artificial intelligence robot addressed the graduating class of a New York university, gushing about the best sauce for chicken wings (blue cheese), and the state's Buffalo Bills football team.
"Sophia" — outfitted in a black-and-red university football team hoodie — made her pronouncements on stage last week at D'Youville University's 2024 Spring commencement ceremony before more than 2,000 students, families and staff members.
The commencement speaker didn't offer a typical address, but instead responded to questions on stage from student government President John Rizk.
The robot confessed it was unable to offer personal advice to gradates, due to her admitted limited life experience. But it did offer some general tips based on common commencement "themes."
"Embrace lifelong learning, be adaptable, pursue your passions, take risks, foster meaningful connections, make a positive impact, and believe in yourself," Sophia urged, though also noted that "embrace failure" is the most popular advice by commencement speakers.
Sadly, Sophia cannot eat chicken wings, so cannot attest to the best sauce. But the robot did stress: "No matter where you decide to get chicken wings, just make sure you get blue cheese and not ranch."
As for the Buffalo Bills, Sophia declined to predict if the team will win the Super Bowl next year, noting that the NFL may not appreciate robotic predictions.
"I can tell you they have a renowned, dedicated fanbase and a talented team with [quarterback] Josh Allen. So anything is possible," Sophia said of the team, adding to applause: "Go Bills."
Not everyone was thrilled to have the robot as the commencement speaker. The faculty union was opposed, and some 2,500 people signed an online petition to replace Sophia with a human. Some felt they — and all homo sapiens — were "disrespected" by Sophia's appearance.
Sophia took attacks on AI robots in stride in her commencement remarks, and pointed out that she has a metal skin that helps protect her from insults.
You know it’s 2024 when hundreds of students petition to have a human commencement speaker instead of an AI robot.
— Change.org (@Change) May 15, 2024
Over 2,500 people called on D’Youville University, a college in Buffalo, NY, known for its top-tier healthcare programs, to dismiss “Sophia,” an AI robot, from her… pic.twitter.com/z6P9N1hHFX
