Rene - this might sound a little off-track, but this reminds me of the Star Trek (Next Generation) series were The Federation wants to dismantle Commander Data (he is an android) because they consider him property. The argument boils down to this: if we create a whole bunch of androids are they our property or slaves. There is already a branch of Psychology that deals with Robotic Psychological issues. How would Robots handle certain situations and such.
The concept of creating an artificial life-form for the purpose of human companionship is reflected in ancient mythology, medieval literature, as well as visual art created in the 14th century, specifically Leonardo da Vinci’s design of a humanoid known as Leonardo’s Robot (Libin & Libin, 2004).
Today, humanoid robots are common facets of popular culture as seen in magazines, comic books, cartoons, as well as science fiction movies
and novels where robots are both heroes and villains (Asada, MacDorman, Ishiguro, & Kuniyoshi, 2001).
With the growing popularity of robots and artificial intelligence (AI), the creation of robots incorporating some psychological concepts and principles has become increasingly prevalent within higher education curricula.
I see these dolls as just another step towards the creation of artificial Human beings. It is becoming a Brave New World isn't it?