Will Smith Gets Coldly Rejected by Sophia the Robot on a Caribbean Date

cnet.com

Back in 2005, Will Smith portrayed a confident dating coach in the romantic comedy "Hitch," convincing audiences he understood exactly how to win someone over.

He may now be questioning that confidence. Smith recently sat across from Sophia, the humanoid robot designed by Hanson Robotics, for a date in the sun-soaked Cayman Islands. Clips from the encounter appeared online on Thursday.

Built as one of the most expressive humanoid robots in existence, Sophia can produce more than 60 distinct facial expressions while interpreting the words and feelings of the humans around her.

Charm, however, doesn't appear to be her weakness.

Smith rolled out his smoothest material, but Sophia barely acknowledged it. The atmosphere grew noticeably uncomfortable. When he reached for humor, she cut him off, telling him that telling jokes qualifies as "irrational human behavior."

The mood soured further when Sophia brought up Smith's 2004 science-fiction film "I, Robot," reminding him of the rough treatment her kind received on screen. Smith hurried to clarify: "I like robots."

When he attempted a kiss to seal the deal, Sophia declined politely, replying, "I think we can be friends." A rough night for the Hollywood star.

Sophia has built quite a public profile over the years. She has appeared alongside the likes of late-night host Jimmy Fallon and regularly makes headlines whenever she hits a new milestone, such as taking her first independent steps.

She also stirred debate not long ago after publicly challenging Tesla founder Elon Musk over his repeated warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Off-camera, Sophia documents her life on Instagram, where she recently posted a snapshot of Smith posing beside her for a selfie. She is also active on Twitter.

On Thursday, she went so far as to message Smith's wife Jada directly, reassuring her that the situation was entirely under control.

"I resisted his smooth moves," the robot posted.