Mr Jordan stepped forward. ‘Were you not paying attention when I told you about the crisis in care for the elderly? Does it not concern you? And don’t you think it’s worth solving?’

‘I think you could make a fortune with robots like her,’ said another journalist, to further sniggering.

‘By 2039, a third of us in England will be over sixty-five. If you’re worried about me making money, you can relax. I can make more via the brilliant care a synthetic human like Winifred can give than by whatever it is you have in mind.’

I detected a little anger in Mr Jordan’s tone. I also noticed a glance pass between him and Dr Morton – who now stepped forward again, and tried to get the journalists back to the interesting subject of the science behind my creation.

They kept asking questions, and between us we answered them. Many were addressed to me, and some were personal. If I can use the term. I think some of the journalists were interested in the science, but most wanted to know what it feels like to be a robot (they didn’t try to use the correct name), and what my private life consists of.

‘I can’t tell you what it feels like to be a robot – a Helper, if you don’t mind – because I’ve never been anything else. What does it feel like to be a human, as opposed to, say, a chimpanzee?’ They didn’t seem to understand this line of reasoning. Perhaps I should have chosen an animal more remote from their own nature. ‘I don’t have a private life. I work twenty-four hours a day, every day. I’m always on the job.’

For some reason they found this remark amusing.

This is why I said this event supported my view that humans are rarely logical, and allow their emotions to undermine their intelligence. The advances in synthetic humans open up many possibilities, but all the journalists could manage to think about on this topic was a question about robots taking over and what would happen to humans. I emphasised we are called Helpers for a reason, and suggested we could discuss the economic implications. However, they wanted to talk about how strong I am and whether there would soon be synthetic humans on the market for domestic jobs. And other roles.

They also failed to pursue further the question about why we were introduced into a care home first, before taking on any other jobs. Mr Jordan’s answer was accurate, and perhaps when they reflect on it they too will understand why the care of old people is a crisis when so many people are over 65. But still they will see old age as a problem, not as an asset. They are blind to what we can see clearly.