Saudi Arabia has made history by becoming the first country to grant citizenship to a robot.

Saudi Arabia has become the first country to give a robot citizenship.

   The move is an attempt to promote Saudi Arabia as a place to develop artificial intelligence – and, presumably, allow it to become a full citizen. But many pointed out that those same rights aren't afforded to many humans in the country.

Sophia is a humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics, who is programmed to be witty, was interviewed by business writer Andrew Ross Sorkin at a Future Investment Conference in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to grant Sophia citizenship also raised quite a few eyebrows, as many commentators pointed out the country’s dismal record when it comes to giving equal rights to women. Sophia addressed the crowd without the customary headscarf and abaya, which Saudi women are required to wear.

Critics of the country’s laws circulated the Arabic hashtag #Sophia_calls_for_dropping_guardianship, which was used more than 10,000 times to date.