Tech Billionaires Propose Replacing Natural Birth With Synthetic Wombs
A “synthetic womb” is what is lately on the agenda of tech billionaires around the globe as they seek out a ways to set aside natural birth entirely. A look into a mind of these individuals do reveal quite curious stances.
Possibility of replacing natural birth with synthetic wombs is a matter of discussion among several prominent tech entrepreneurs arguing that such technology would remove the “burden” of pregnancy and allow women to work more.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s fellow tech leaders came up with one solution for declining birth rates, after Muskwarned on Tuesday that society “should be much more worried about population collapse.”
“We should be investing in technology that makes having kids much faster/easier/cheaper/more accessible… Synthetic wombs, etc,” proposed Sahil Lavingia, the founder of digital product trading platform Gumroad.
We should be much more worried about population collapse
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 18, 2022
Co-founder of cryptocurrency Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin agreed, arguing that if the “burden of pregnancy” was replaced with synthetic wombs, then women would be able to continue working.
Disparities in economic success between men and women are far larger once marriage+children enter the picture. Synthetic wombs would remove the high burden of pregnancy, significantly reducing the inequality.https://t.co/Zpin8tTlR6
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 18, 2022
Buterin claimed that outsourcing pregnancy to machines could mean “significantly reducing the inequality” of wealth between genders.
No, removing women and the womb from human birth is not better for women. Nor is it better for humanity.
— Gigi Young (@mysticinthemoon) January 18, 2022
Hard to believe people support this, tbh. https://t.co/wdvQRmNzPH
Though Lavingia and Buterin received some support on social media, most of them were overwhelmingly negative. Critics also compared this idea to the lab-grown humans from ‘The Matrix’.
I'd be for affordable child care over a synthetic womb. Maybe that's just me tho. ???? https://t.co/DDCbcNYu35
— Paulette Aniskoff (@PAniskoff) January 18, 2022
“This is so dystopian… why not create a system where anyone contributing to society earns enough to build a family, buy a house and live instead of constantly being priced out by inflation?” suggested one person.
Journalist Amil Niazi tweeted, “The reason the majority of ppl [are] choosing not to have kids aren’t having them is not because they’re lacking quick and easy synthetic wombs it’s because it increasingly feels like you need to be a millionaire to have them.”
In 2019, scientists in the Netherlands claimed they were within 10 years of creating the world’s first artificial womb in order to protect premature babies rather than to replace natural pregnancy altogether.
- Source : GreatGameIndia
