Pregnant Chinese robots turned out to be a fake. Are they possible at all?

Last week in the news and social media spread, that the chinese company Kaiwa Technology is allegedly going to introduce robots for carrying and giving birth to human children next year.

Fake is fake, but what’s real?

The news itself turned out to be fake. Western publications, in particular, Newsweek, The Economic Times, and ChosunBiz all cited Kuai Ke Zhi as a source. The articles also mentioned either the CEO or the founder of Kaiwa Technology, D., affiliated with the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Zhang Qifeng. 

At the same time, there is no information on the Internet about Kaiwa Technology, and Nanyang Technological University told LiveScience, that no Zhang Qifeng graduated from their institution and did not receive a doctorate. In addition, the journalists found out, that Nanyang Technological University no research was conducted, associated with robots carrying human children. 

However, this viral story has again raised questions about the potential of artificial uterus technology. As noted by director of the Division of Reproductive and Placental Research at Yale University School of Medicine Harvey Kliman, it is absolutely impossible to prevent the development of such technologies, but it can be useful to reflect on such problems to realize that the beauty and miracle of a normal pregnancy. 

Meanwhile, scientists around the world are developing artificial uterus technology. At the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers are creating a device similar to an artificial uterus, which has already been named “Extrauterine Environment for Newborn Development” or EXTEND. This development is planned to be used to support preterm infants between 23 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. 

Recent advances have made it possible to reduce mortality, associated with preterm labor. However, health problems, such as chronic lung disease and impaired nervous system development, still pose a serious problem for babies born prematurely. To reduce these risks, U.S. scientists are seeking to create a womb-like environment, where babies can be placed after preterm birth to help them survive the 28 weeks. 

This device is a bag filled with amniotic fluid, which is created in a laboratory and contains key nutrients and factors for growth and development. The umbilical cord is attached to an “external oxygenator”, that partially replaces the placenta, promoting the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Inside the device, the baby will be protected from temperature, pressure, and light changes, as well as — from germs. 

So far, the technology EXTEND was tested only on lambs. In scientific publication since 2017, researchers have demonstrated, that lamb embryos can be in the device for a month, and their development continues in much the same way as in the womb. A new study, conducted in 2024 in cooperation with scientists from Duke University, scientists studied, how the new artificial uterus technology affects gene activity in the brain. The device helped to preserve the activity of genes in the brains of premature lambs, making it similar to the activity of genes in lambs, that remained in the womb for much longer.

At the same time, a number of researchers working on the creation of an artificial placenta, which will perform the same function as the system EXTEND. These devices have been tested on lambs, but they are still far from being tested on humans. Developers EXTEND is planning to start a study with human participants soon. 

At all stages of work on the system EXTEND developers emphasized, that their device is designed to support premature babies and is not intended for stimulation of fetal viability before 23 weeks. Of course, there is a big difference between saving the life of a sick child and carrying a child from conception, as the fake Kaiwa Technology robot was supposed to do. 

What difficulties will the creation of a robotic incubator for human embryos face?

It is likely, that such robots, if they appear, will have to deal with a particularly difficult stage of pregnancy — implantation. During pregnancy, without stimulation of the reproductive system, the egg travels through the fallopian tube, where it is usually fertilized, and then enters the uterus and implants in its wall. In infertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, the fertilized egg is transferred to the uterus, where it is ideally implanted.

According to Dr. Harvey Kliman, implantation may not be the most critical stage in a robotic incubator. According to him, similar to the EXTEND studies with lambs, theoretically, a human embryo could be suspended in liquid rather than place into something like the uterine wall. The real challenge is to ensure, that the embryo is suspended, so that it can grow unhindered and to provide it with enough nutrients and growth factors. According to Kliman, in this design, the placenta “doesn’t actually need to be attached to anything or integrated into anything”.

According to Lusine Agadzhanova, recreating the implantation process will be key. According to her, it can be compared to seeds and soil. According to her, abnormalities of the uterine lining can disrupt both fetal growth and placental development, so some tissue replacement is likely to be required in the consultant’s robot.

Another challenge will be to deliver the necessary nutrients to the fetus at a specific time In the early stages of pregnancy, up to about eight weeks, the glands of the uterine lining produce nutritious “milk” for the developing embryo and placenta. At this stage, the blood flow from the mother to the uterus is not yet fully stabilized, mainly because the mother’s blood is too oxygenated.

If robotic incubators for human babies are created, it will be necessary to reproduce the process of transition from low to high oxygen levels and ensure, that the environment is similar to that of the mother. According to Agadzhanova, the mother’s metabolism changes significantly during pregnancy, so it is difficult to determine, what dose of oxygen is needed at a particular stage of development.

During a real pregnancy, the embryo and placenta must be protected from the mother’s immune system, which can mistake them for foreign organisms. In addition, the uterus undergoes changes to create a suitable environment for the embryo, and the placenta releases hormones that prepare the mammary glands for milk production. However, in the case of an artificial uterus, these factors will hardly matter. 

What about the immune system and protection against infections?

There are also questions about, how the fetal immune system will develop in a robotic incubator. During a human pregnancy, antibodies are transferred from the mother’s blood to the fetus through the umbilical cord. That is why various vaccines are administered in late pregnancy: the vaccines stimulate the production of antibodies in the mother, these antibodies are passed on to the fetus, and newborns are born with some protection against dangerous infections. In addition, additional antibodies, that are not related to vaccination are transmitted.

However, robots do not have an immune system and are unlikely to develop one. Developers will probably have to figure out, how to reproduce this process, perhaps with antibodies created in the laboratory or with donated blood. 

According to Harvey Kliman, it may not be as difficult as it seems. The scientist suggests, that some of these antibodies can come after birth through breast milk or formula containing laboratory-grown antibodies. Lusine Agadjanova also adds, that in the womb, the immune system must avoid attacking the growing fetus while protecting it from pathogens. While the first factor may not matter in the case of a robotic incubator, the second level of protection is still necessary. 

An additional factor to consider may be vaginal microbiome, which includes bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. Studies have shown, that these microorganisms affect the health of the unborn child. Determining, how and what to deliver to the robot to mimic this complex microbial community can be challenging, as we do not fully understand which types of microorganisms are beneficial for fetal development.

The loss of the microbiome is likely to result in plastic components in the robot itself. It is not yet clear how all this plastic might affect early development, but in her opinion, it is unlikely to have a positive effect. There are many other issues, including, how will the eggs and sperm be obtained? Whose gametes will be used to test and optimize the device to prove its ability to deliver a baby? Where can such research be legally conducted? Will fertilization take place inside the bot itself or through a laboratory procedure similar to IVF? Who will be responsible for maintaining and monitoring the robot’s functions throughout the “pregnancy”? What will the robot’s labor process look like, and will engineers be needed in the maternity ward? Are there still unknown aspects of human pregnancy that will be lost by a child raised in a machine?

Source: LiveScience