Embryo selection, AI and reproductive choice

Abstract In reproductive medicine, current research into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve embryo selection has been met with enthusiasm. Within ethics, previous assessments of AI-assisted embryo selection have focused, for example, on liability gaps or risks arising from opaque decision-making. I argue that this focus on the ethical issues raised by AI in embryo selection alone is incomplete because it neglects how AI’s convergence with other innovative reproductive technologies raises further ethical issues. I describe how AI is acting as a catalyst for a social disruption of human reproduction and for a profound change in reproductive morality. The social disruption is the result of the convergence of improved embryo culture, the optimization of embryo selection through AI and the possibility of selecting a screened embryo. This technological interplay creates a pull towards assisted reproduction, even for those prospective parents who can reproduce without medical assistance. In discussing a fictional case of prospective parents, I argue that this social disruption of reproduction is linked to a moral disruption. The moral disruption manifests itself in the deep uncertainty of prospective parents about legitimate ways of procreating. I explain how this uncertainty is rooted in a technology-induced disruption of the concept of reproductive choice. I then outline how the ethical debate about AI-assisted embryo selection should be reframed in light of this moral disruption.