Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-115.166.21.215-20161005151230/@comment-4010415-20161005182914

We're forgetting the most important part: Monty did not come up with the idea for the Maidens until after they finished making Volume 2.

Which means that having Maiden powers is definitely not Penny's original purpose.

Now, let me direct you to something else Ironwood has said before:

"Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch." - Ironwood, in A Minor Hiccup

It's possible that Ironwood's goal was to build a robot army for their war against Salem and the Grimm, so they could fight the big war without tons of people getting killed. So, I'm guessing Irownood did not see Penny as a person, but rather a robot that can operate like a person rather than a dumb robot.