If 'pregnancy robots' were real, would you use one?

an illustration of a baby's hand on top of a large, robotic hand — If you could outsource pregnancy to a robot, would you? Tell us below. (Image credit: Wirestock via Getty Images)

A viral story spread through the tabloids this week, proclaiming that a CEO of a technology company in China was in the midst of developing a "pregnancy robot." A prototype of the bot would be ready by next year, the CEO projected, and would be designed to sustain a human pregnancy from conception to birth, around 10 months.

The robot and the related story were — as you might have guessed — pure fiction. But the viral tale nonetheless raised questions about whether designing such a robot could be possible with today's technology, and what ethical quandaries that possibility might raise, in turn.

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Nicoletta Lanese is the health channel editor at Live Science and was previously a news editor and staff writer at the site. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from UC Santa Cruz and degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in The Scientist, Science News, the Mercury News, Mongabay and Stanford Medicine Magazine, among other outlets. Based in NYC, she also remains heavily involved in dance and performs in local choreographers' work.

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