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AI’s latest product, Remini, enables users to upload photos of themselves and their partner to generate images of their potential future child.
This app has dual implications. Firstly, it allows individuals to visualize themselves as parents, potentially motivating them to pursue parenthood without delay. As one woman expressed, “I can actually see myself being [pregnant] at some point.”
However, the introduction of new technologies also brings forth various temptations and potential abuses. As reproductive technology advances, doctors could bring AI-generated images of children into actual existence. This raises a crucial question: What is the purpose of having a child?
Using in vitro fertilization, fertility clinics can create and test embryos to find a parent’s “ideal” child. (istock)
With the aid of AI, the “build-a-child” industry can offer a personalized experience where doctors showcase lifelike images of potential children to parents.
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Through in vitro fertilization (IVF), fertility clinics can create and evaluate embryos to identify a parent’s “ideal” child. Around 75% of IVF clinics in the U.S. provide genetic testing, allowing parents to generate multiple embryos and select the one that aligns with their preferred characteristics, including sex, eye color, hair color, and skin color. They can even assess the likelihood of a child developing certain health problems. In a controversial case, deaf parents attempted to conceive a child who would inherit their deafness. Unwanted embryos are typically destroyed by clinics.
Big Fertility understands its customer base well. The IVF industry alone is worth $3 billion in the U.S., while the broader fertility market generates approximately $8 billion. As a convicted surrogacy clinic owner revealed, “There is a lot of treachery and deception in [the fertility industry] because there is gobs of money to be made.”
Currently, there are limited federal or state regulations governing the fertility industry. It is only a matter of time before clinics utilize the power of AI to enhance the process of creating babies. However, just because doctors can envision it doesn’t mean they should bring such a child into existence.
For instance, genetic testing does not always yield accurate results. Last year, a couple sued their fertility clinic because the doctors failed to select a male embryo. Consequently, the couple’s surrogate gave birth to a girl, much to their disappointment.
In contrast, when doctors successfully choose an individual’s desired child, concerns of eugenics arise. Many fertility clinics report that parents desire children with white skin, high IQs, or specific eye colors like blue or green.
Instead of embracing the natural diversity of potential children, AI allows doctors to craft the “best” type of child. In this scenario, the “ideal” child will inevitably be subject to ongoing trends.
Remini and similar AI programs are not limited by what is real, natural, or inherently good. For example, the app displays potential children from two women or two men. Advances in science are not far behind, as researchers have already experimented with mice to transform an egg into sperm capable of fertilizing another egg, a process known as “sperm-free fertilization.”
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Science fiction often serves as a warning about the risks of AI imitating humans. An example of this is the concept of “digital” babies, virtual infants that women can care for through their smartphones. However, these phenomena are typically short-lived. Instead, it is more probable that scientists will use AI to create children who resemble machines. Plastic surgeons have already observed an increase in cases of “Snapchat dysphoria,” whereby women request to be transformed to resemble their filtered selves on Snapchat.
This represents the significant temptation with technology: the transformation of humans into machines. In essence, individuals would become “manu-factured,” quite literally, “handmade.” When parents custom design their children, they are not so different from child traffickers. Even with good intentions, both the parent and the trafficker choose a child based on their personal desires rather than unconditionally accepting the child.
Naturally, there is nothing inherently wrong with doctors using AI to help parents envision their future children. The problem arises when doctors employ AI to create a child with specific appearances, sex, or predetermined values. Doctors should utilize technology to illuminate the essence of being fully human rather than reducing individuals to customizable “meat legos.”
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In order to responsibly navigate this new technology, the first step is to pay close attention to it. Without thoughtful usage, AI will fuel the “build-a-child” industry, which commodifies children as products to be designed, marketed, and sold.
The purpose of every new child should not be to become a product or an accessory for adult life. Each new child is a human being deserving of unconditional love.
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