It looks to me like it's about the same issue as "I, Robot" and many other stories like that: if you have a character who really is a robot, and thinks in robotic ways and not human ways, should that person be treated as equivalent to human? How alien can their mentality be and still be considered equal? Is it okay if their thought processes are completely inhuman, as long as they have some crucial quality such as free will or self-awareness?
Why don't sci fi fans find that interesting? It's a tried and true theme of sci fi, but it hasn't been overexposed on TV. By the end of BSG, when I realized that the metal Cylons were a better example of the "I, Robot" theme than the way-too-human skinjobs, I got frustrated that the true toasters had been only tangental characters in the story. Now we get a chance to see their side of things.
People thought DS9 was a soap opera. too, so maybe we should take it as a compliment.
That's my take, too. They can say they are new, bold and different but I don't believe they can do it.
The bigger threat at Skiffy isn't their fear of real sci fi elements but their tendency to prefer light & fluffy approaches (and stupid reality TV shows). They might push Caprica more toward the 90210 soap that everyone so fears, in order to grab ratings. 
Last Tuesdays' brand new ep drew less than 2 million viewers total. That's not good on a (supposedly) broadcast network. Reaper had more viewers.
