World's first baby born via AI-powered IVF system

A breakthrough in fertility tech shows potential to reduce human error during IVF treatments.

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A baby has been born following a form of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) largely carried out by a machine, in what researchers say is a world first.

The development could signal a major shift in how fertility treatments are performed.

The machine, developed by New York-based biotech firm Conceivable Life Sciences, was used to complete 23 critical steps of a procedure known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). A human operator supervised the process remotely via livestream, initiating each step with the press of a button.

"This level of automation could reduce the chance of human error and fatigue affecting the outcomes," said Jacques Cohen, co-founder of the company and an expert in assisted reproduction.

In ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into an egg, a technique often used when male infertility is involved. However, the manual nature of the process requires extreme precision and concentration, making it prone to errors.

To test the automated system, researchers recruited a couple struggling with infertility. The male partner's sperm had limited motility, and the female partner received donor eggs due to ovulatory issues.

Of the eight donor eggs, five were fertilised using the automated system, and three through conventional manual ICSI. All eight developed into embryos. An AI model then evaluated the embryos, selecting two deemed most viable—both from the automated process.

One embryo failed to implant, but the other resulted in the successful birth.

Joyce Harper, a reproductive science professor at University College London, described the result as an "exciting proof-of-concept" but noted that larger, controlled trials would be needed to determine if the system is more effective than manual IVF.

The system incorporates artificial intelligence to choose optimal sperm based on visual cues and uses a laser to immobilise them before injection.

Though not immediately expected to become widespread due to cost, Cohen believes the expense will decrease with further development and standardisation.