Throughout history, science has been used again and again to reaffirm whatever prejudices were in vogue at the time — including the idea that women are weaker, crazier, less smart and generally less capable than men.
While completely robotic, Sophia also addressed questions about gender and robots. When asked if she believed that robots could have gender, she answered, "I think so. After all, I am a social robot, and gender is mostly a social construction." Another audience member asked the robot why and how she identifies as a woman. Sophia responded, "I'm a robot, so technically I have no gender, but [I] identify as feminine and I don't mind being perceived as a woman."