Can a fluffy robot really replace a cat or dog? My weird, emotional week with an AI pet

Casio says Moflin can develop its own personality and build a rapport with its owner - and it doesn't need food, exercise or a litter tray. But is it essentially comforting or alienating?

It looks faintly like one half of a small pair of very fluffy slippers. It squeaks and wriggles and nestles in the palm of my hand, black eyes hidden beneath amop of silvery-white fur. It weighs about the same as a tin of soup. Itdoesn't need to be fed or walked and it doesn't use a litter tray; it's guaranteed not to leave gifts" onmy doorstep. Which is just as well, because Moflin is about to become my pet.

Before I am entrusted with the welfare of Japan's latest AI companion robot, I meet its developers at the Tokyo headquarters of Casio, the consumer electronics firm that launched it commercially this month, priced at 59,400 yen (about 300). Moflin's role is to build relationships with humans," says Casio's Erina Ichikawa. I have just a week to establish a rapport with mine, which I remind myself not toleave on the train home.