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| (Getty image) |
Today, more and more Chinese youngsters are pushing the idea of having children just to focus on career due to the huge expenditure on the birth and upbringing of a child in China as well as high living costs in larger Chinese cities. As a result China is seeing the slowest growth in population in decades. Here the birth rate has recently fallen to its lowest level in six decades. Therefore, it is believed that to overcome this problem, scientists are developing AI based technology.
Chinese scientists from Suzhou in China’s eastern Jiangsu province have developed Robotic Artificial Intelligence system that can monitor and take care of embryos as they grow into fetuses in an artificial womb environment what could be a breakthrough for the future of childbearing in a country facing its lowest birth rates in decades.
“Now
women will not need to keep the child in their womb for nine months, she will
also get rid of problems during pregnancy. This technology allows her fetus to
grow outside her body in a safe yet efficient way. She will be able to watch
the child grow into an artificial embryo, as well as robots to monitor the
fetus”- scientists claimed.
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'An artificial womb is intended
to facilitate the process of ectogenesis, which is the development of a fetus
in an artificial environment following transfer from a maternal womb. The
biobag is a sealed bag that has umbilical cord access and an oxygenator circuit.'
This AI nanny is looking after a large number of animal embryos for now. Watching them develop. The findings were published in the domestic peer-reviewed Journal of Biomedical Engineering last month.
Scientists
told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) Media Institute, "that this
technology is helping us understand the evolution of life. Apart from this,
through this we will be able to understand the development of human embryos
more closely in future. Birth related problems will be overcome. Along with
this, you will be able to take care of reproductive health."
The
device that’s named ‘long-term embryo culture device’ is a container where they
have mouse embryos growing inside cubes lined up, each filled with nutritious
fluids.
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| The artificial womb with 'AI nanny': Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology |
In
the initial stages, the development of each embryo had to be observed,
documented and adjusted manually. However, now they've got an AI nanny that
monitors the embryos in crazy detail.
AI
nanny and the technology of artificial embryos has been developed in such
a way that all types of activity can be observed in a completely controlled
environment. In this the pattern of changes and development in the body can be
understood. These embryos are being prepared with the help of an in Vitro
Culture System. For which AI nanny has been deployed for monitoring.
This
AI nanny helps the machine observe minutest changes on the embryos and finely
tune the CO2, nutrition and environmental inputs. The system is also capable of
ranking the embryos based on health and development potential. If an embryo
dies or suffers a defect, the machine would alert a technician to remove it
from the system.
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Experts
however claim that the research on later stages is important as several
mysteries still exist about the physiology of typical human embryonic
development. They claim that this tech would help understand the origin of life
as well as embryonic development, while also offering a way to solve birth
defects and major reproductive health issues.
It is
a nice concept when the nation has banned the idea of surrogacy and any hospital
delivering such a baby would have to bear the child’s responsibility, something
no hospital wishes to.
If this AI nanny system gets approval in future it could prove the level of progress and acceptance of the researchers. However, the idea is surrounded by ethical and social concerns as well as psychological implications on the child.
Surveys
show young Chinese women increasingly rejecting the traditional priorities of
marriage and children, despite the drastic easing of China's one-child policy
and other state incentives. Mass production of babies in an artificial womb
plant might help maintain the population in a country where citizens are not
keen to bear children.
AI
nanny seems too good to be true but, it will have to
overcome a ton of challenges to be acceptable -- current international laws
don’t allow experimental studies on human embryos beyond two weeks of
development.
"If
everyone is born this way, fair enough. But if some children are given birth to
by parents, and some by the government, there will be a big problem.” - experts
says
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