"Can anything be done about it?" Malcolm asks. He's guessing not. It sounds like it's part of the government. America's government certainly isn't innocent when it comes to unethical experimentation, but it still distresses him to hear about people getting hurt.

Malcolm's still trying to understand what synths are, since his only schema of them revolves around voices from devices. He'd never think those synths were alive. DiMA, on the other hand, seems very alive.

He nods at DiMA's explanation. "As I said, I believe that you can feel emotion and pain. The things you've told me are enough for me to draw that conclusion."

It's clear to Malcolm that DiMA thinks and feels, so by extension, and without other synths to examine, he's assuming that other synths can do that as well.