Jia Jia can hold a simple conversation and make specific facial expressions when asked, and her creator believes the eerily life-like robot heralds a future of cyborg labour in China.

Billed as China's first human-like robot, Jia Jia was first trotted out last year by a team of engineers at the University of Science and Technology of China. Team leader Chen Xiaoping sounded like a proud father as he and his prototype appeared  at an economic conference organised by banking giant UBS in Shanghai's futuristic financial centre. With flowing black hair and dressed in a traditional Chinese dress, Jia Jia looks strikingly real. Yet her charm has its limits and simple questions frequently stump her. Still, Chen said his team has made great progress over the past two years in developing her AI. She was able accurately to answer a query about the day's weather, hold basic conversations and recognise the gender of her questioners. "You are a handsome man," she complimented one, but when asked later if she has a boyfriend, replied, "I prefer to stay single." (ouch!) 

According to Chen, the robots are ready to work for you

Chen predicted that perhaps within a decade artificially intelligent (AI) robots like Jia Jia will begin performing a range of menial tasks in Chinese restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals and households. "In 5-10 years there will be a lot of applications for robots in China," Chen said. Rapid advancements are being made in artificial intelligence and such products stole the limelight at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

('Aiko Chihira' at the information reception desk of Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, Japan. Developed by Toshiba Corp and code named ChihiraAica, the female humanoid is dressed in a Japanese kimono and was installed as a receptionist at the upscale Mitsukoshi department store, helping to give directions and information to shoppers.) 

A range of products were unveiled that can respond to voice commands to play music at home and follow other remote-control orders -- or even think on their feet by accessing and "learning" from the Internet cloud.  One company, Hanson Robotics, unveiled its life-like "Professor Einstein," which has realistic facial expressions and can engage in informative conversations such as lessons in math and science.  Jia Jia is not quite there yet, but Chen sees a bright future for her kind in China. He said growing prosperity was causing many young Chinese to eschew jobs like waitressing, while an ageing population would require more hands on deck in hospitals and nursing homes -- even if they aren't human hands.

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Toyota built a synthetic baby companion for childless-couples (As if humanoids weren't enough)

In 2016, Toyota Motor Corp  unveiled a doe-eyed palm-sized robot, dubbed Kirobo Mini, designed as a synthetic baby companion in Japan, where plummeting birth rates have left many women childless. 

It behaves exactly like a baby
"He wobbles a bit, and this is meant to emulate a seated baby, which hasn't fully developed the skills to balance itself," said Fuminori Kataoka, Kirobo Mini's chief design engineer. "This vulnerability is meant to invoke an emotional connection." Toyota plans to sell Kirobo Mini, which blinks its eyes and speaks with a baby-like high-pitched voice, for 39,800 yen ($392) in Japan. It also comes with a "cradle" that doubles as its baby seat designed to fit in car cup holders.

The robot population is expanding rapidly, what does it all mean? 
The Toyota baby automaton joins a growing list of companion robots, such as the upcoming Jibo, designed by robotics experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that resembles a swivelling lamp, and Paro, a robot baby seal marketed by Japanese company Intelligent System Co Ltd as a therapeutic machine to soothe elderly dementia sufferers. Around a quarter of Japan's population is over 65 with a dearth of care workers putting a strain on social services. The Toyota baby automaton joins a growing list of companion robots, such as the upcoming Jibo, designed by robotics experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that resembles a swivelling lamp, and Paro, a robot baby seal marketed by Japanese company Intelligent System Co Ltd as a therapeutic machine to soothe elderly dementia sufferers. Around a quarter of Japan's population is over 65 with a dearth of care workers putting a strain on social services.

Japan is already a leading user of industrial robots. It has the second-biggest concentration after South Korea with 314 machines per 100,000 employees, according to the International Federation of Robots. New technology to help them better interact with humans means robots have begun moving beyond factory floors into homes, offices, shops and hospitals. Kataoka said Toyota, which is investing heavily to develop artificial intelligence for self-driving cars, sees Kirobo Mini as a stepping stone to more advanced robots that will be able to recognize and react to human emotions.