China Reportedly Developing ‘Pregnancy Robot,’ and Humanoid Spotted in NYC

China is reportedly working on a “pregnancy robot,” a bot with an artificial womb that will be able to carry a fetus for about 10 months. According to reports from Chosun Biz, the robot will receive nutrients through a hose in its abdomen.

The “pregnancy robot” was conceptualized by Dr. Zhang Qifeng, founder of Kaiwa Technology in Guangzhou, China. A prototype is expected to debut next year. The cost to hire a humanoid to carry a baby will be 100,000 yuan, or about $14,000, which is significantly less than the cost of a human surrogate in the US, which can range from $100,000 to $200,000.

“The artificial womb technology is already in a mature stage, and now it needs to be implanted in the robot’s abdomen so that a real person and the robot can interact to achieve pregnancy, allowing the fetus to grow inside,” Qifeng told Chosun Biz. However, many questions remain, including how the bot will give birth.

In related news, a humanoid bot was recently seen on Fifth Avenue in Midtown, New York, doing everyday human tasks like grabbing a hot dog. The KOID-branded bot was a promotion for KraneShares’s Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index ETF. Joseph Dube, head of marketing at KraneShares, noted that people had a “mixed bag of reactions,” with some amazed and others terrified.