China: Laboratory claims to be on the verge of launching robots with uteruses to give birth to babies - ZENIT - English

China: Laboratory claims to be on the verge of launching robots with uteruses to give birth to babies - ZENIT - English: Dr. Zhang Qifeng, founder of Kaiwa Technology, has described the project as “mature” and commercially ready, with prototypes expected to sell for around US$14,000 in the coming year

(ZENIT News / Beijing, 08.20.2025).- The prospect of artificial wombs housed inside humanoid robots is no longer confined to the realm of speculative fiction. In China, a biotechnology firm claims it is on the verge of marketing such machines, designed to carry human embryos from conception to delivery. The announcement has ignited both fascination and unease, reopening debates on the meaning of parenthood, the boundaries of science, and the fragile line between innovation and hubris. Dr. Zhang Qifeng, founder of Kaiwa Technology, has described the project as “mature” and commercially ready, with prototypes expected to sell for around US$14,000 in the coming year. The device would function as an artificial uterus, supplying nutrients to the developing fetus through a tube and surrounding it with synthetic amniotic fluid. According to Zhang, the long-term vision is for these systems to be implanted in robotic bodies, enabling “interaction” between the machine and the human parent throughout gestation. The ambition is vast, but the details remain opaque. While reports suggest in vitro fertilization would likely be used to generate the embryos, little is known about how implantation and development would truly work outside the natural rhythms of a human womb. For now, what is presented as science may be closer to a provocative prototype than a clinical reality. Proponents frame the technology as a solution to rising infertility rates, especially in China, where demographic concerns weigh heavily on policymakers. Supporters also speculate that artificial wombs could offer alternatives for women with severe medical conditions, or even reshape reproductive choices for those unwilling or unable to undergo pregnancy. Some outlets have gone further, heralding such devices as a revolution for medicine, family structures, and human fertility itself. But ethical, medical, and philosophical criticisms have surfaced just as quickly. Scientists note that gestation is not merely a mechanical process of nourishment and growth. Pregnancy involves subtle exchanges of cells, hormones, and signals between mother and child—such as microchimerism, in which fetal and maternal cells cross into one another’s bodies, shaping immune systems and potentially reducing autoimmune risks. Likewise, unborn children begin to recognize their mother’s voice, laying the foundations for emotional bonding and language development.

These profound biological and relational dynamics, critics argue, cannot simply be programmed into machines. To raise a child without the experience of maternal contact, they warn, risks creating not only medical complications but profound psychological and social distortions. For many ethicists, it is not just a matter of technology but of anthropology: what it means to be human, to belong to a family, and to begin life within a mother’s womb. The announcement also arrives in a cultural climate increasingly unsettled by other biotechnological ambitions, such as genetic engineering for so-called “designer babies.” The possibility of tailoring traits like intelligence or appearance has already drawn investment from powerful backers, raising fears that human life could be treated as a consumer product rather than a gift. The artificial womb project, then, is more than a medical proposal. It touches on questions at the heart of human identity and religious anthropology: is procreation an arena for limitless experimentation, or are there boundaries rooted in nature and morality that must not be crossed? For now, Kaiwa Technology’s robots remain an experiment, and their promises are far from proven. Yet the conversation they spark will not be easily dismissed. In an age where technology advances faster than our moral frameworks, the challenge is not only what can be done, but what should be done—and whether society is prepared to live with the consequences of its choices.

China: Laboratory claims to be on the verge of launching robots with uteruses to give birth to babies | ZENIT - English