Humanoid robot Sophia to participate in Dubai internal auditors' conference

Her appearance is part of the conference's efforts to highlight the role of AI in the future of the auditing industry

Sophia during her appearance at the Etisalat stand at last year's Gitex Technology Week in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Sophia, the first robot in the world to be given a country's citizenship, will be in Dubai on March 8 at the Annual Regional Audit Conference.

The social humanoid will take part in an interactive session on the future of artificial intelligence.

The participation of Sophia, who was created by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, is part of the conference's efforts to highlight the role of AI in the future of the auditing industry, the UAE Internal Auditors Association said on Saturday.

"The organisers facilitated Sophia's presence at the smart conference as a symbol of the future of artificial intelligence," the association said.

Various industries are increasingly adopting AI applications, which significantly streamline and automate processes, whether independently or with the aid of humans.

Investing in AI helps to improve audit quality and reduces fees, a study by the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business has shown. It does, however, acknowledge that the technology would ultimately displace human auditors, although the effect on labour takes several years to materialise.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the Big Four accounting and auditing firms, last June announced plans to invest $12 billion in AI and cyber security through 2026, a move that includes hiring more than 100,000 people.

Ernst & Young, meanwhile, pledged last September that it will spend around $10bn in the next three years to boost the quality of its audits in the aftermath of scandals that included the fraud-marred collapse of German payments group Wirecard. The record spending includes training its staff to detect fraud.

Overall, the global AI market size was valued at $51.08bn in 2020 and is expected to hit $641.30bn by 2028, growing at a compound annual rate of 36.1 per cent from 2021 to 2028, Verified Market Research has said.

The regional audit conference will be held from March 7-9 at Dubai World Trade Centre, with Sophia conducting the AI session on the second day. Apart from AI, the event will also focus on cyber security, digitalisation of information security and other relevant auditing topics.

The conference is sponsored by Sharjah's Bee'ah Group, US-based consultancy Protiviti, and Big Four members PwC and KPMG.

The conference will provide an opportunity for attendees to receive more than 22 continuing professional education credits, or CPE, which are points professionals receive for participating in specialised training. More than 40 international speakers, leaders and authors will be participating in over 40 sessions.

Sophia, modelled after British actress Audrey Hepburn, Egyptian queen Nefertiti and its inventor's wife, Amanda Hanson, was given Saudi citizenship in October 2017.

A month later, the UN Development Programme named the robot its first Innovation Champion, the first non-human to be granted a UN title.

She is described as "a unique combination of science, engineering and artistry, a human-crafted science fiction character depicting the future of AI and robotics, and a platform for advanced robotics and AI research", Hanson says on its website.