Chinese scientists say they’ve developed a robotic AI system that is capable of monitoring and caring for embryos growing in artificial wombs.
This AI robot may become the potential solution to the population growth issues in the most populous country in the world as their birth rates have declined to the lowest level in the past six decades.
The scientists whose findings are published in Biomedical Engineering note that the robotic nanny is already caring for several animal fetuses in artificial wombs.
Nurturing Babies Better with the Help of AI Nannies?
According to the research team, this system will make the nurturing of the embryos more efficient than it is in a natural womb.
This is because the AI robot is specifically designed to cautiously monitor and care for the embryos by adjusting vital factors like nutrition and carbon dioxide.
According to the paper written by Chinese experts from Suzhou, there are plenty of unsolved mysteries concerning the physiology of the usual human development of embryos.
They claim this tech helps increase the understanding of the origin of life and the embryonic development of humans, but also provides a theoretical basis to resolve birth defects and other reproductive issues.
What Kind of Artificial Womb Is This?
An artificial womb is a huge machine with compartments for fetuses. The embryos are fed in the same way as in a real womb with food that’s a mixture of nutritious fluids.
Records of the embryo’s health and developmental potential are kept during the process of growth.
However, for the time being, this tech is only used for the development of animal embryos. This is because experimenting on human embryos older than two weeks is prohibited under international law.
Surrogacy is also banned in China and since the artificial wombs would convert a hospital or a lab into a mom, this tech is unlikely to be introduced under the Chinese legislation, at least not anytime soon.
Artificial wombs aren’t a new concept; however, bringing this tech into the human sphere and combining it with AIs still sounds quite dystopian.
Some of the benefits that could arise from artificial wombs is giving couples who’re otherwise unable or at risk to have their own biological children a chance for a family.
For now, adoption or surrogacy are two ways in which couples can expand their families if natural ways aren’t an option.
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