robots imitate human speech

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050516/robotspeech.html?msn=dsc_news

For decades, people have speculated about the possibility of robot "companions". I've always been skeptical of such musings, but that skepticism is beginning to crack. There seems so much research going on that will lead to such a development, the next 50 years could be frightening, (Bladerunner, anyone?)