China has created an AI system for growing embryos in artificial wombs

Researchers from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology in Suzhou reported on the development of an artificial intelligence system that can control the growth and development of embryos in artificial wombs.

At the moment, the system is already looking after a large number of animal embryos. And she does it with unprecedented efficiency, inaccessible to people.

The artificial womb itself, or "long-term embryo culture device," is a series of containers of nutrient fluids.

Previously, the development process of each embryo had to be constantly monitored, and then everything was documented and various settings were adjusted manually. This time-consuming task became unbearable as the scale of research increased.

The new AI-powered robotic system makes this much faster and more accurate, serving the embryos around the clock. It detects the slightest sign of change and fine-tunes the supply of air, power and water.

The system is also able to keep photographic records and even rank embryos according to their health status and developmental potential. When one of them develops a serious defect or dies, the machine will alert the technician to remove it from the container.

In the future, such an "AI babysitter" could save a woman the burden of carrying a child, allowing the fetus to grow more safely and efficiently outside of her body, scientists say.

Currently, current international laws prohibit experimental studies of human embryos after two weeks of development. But the developers of the system believe that research into the later stages is necessary.

However, this need does not negate a lot of questions regarding the ethics of such experiments.