A futuristic possibility that would enable a baby to grow outside the womb due to problems with the mother's fertility. While in vitro fertilization (IVF) enables conception outside the womb, the embryo grows inside the woman to full term. In contrast, an artificial womb is like an artificial uterus, enabling the embryo to grow into a baby without ever being inside a female. The artificial womb would emulate the nutrition and hormonal signals of a natural womb.
Of course, such a proposition leads one to think of a national baby factory that breeds thousands of children to increase the country's population, but it may not be that farfetched. Many believe that in the future, the combination of AI and quantum computing will enable the research necessary to accomplish such feats, which today seem impossible, if not downright bizarre. See
AI and
quantum computing.