How do Machines Breed Humans in "The Matrix"?

Question

Did the Machines in the Matrix use human women to have baby humans, or did they have some type of mechanical womb? It's clear, from the variety of humans we see in the film, that they kept some kind of genetic diversity, but was that intentional? Did the Machines have any kind of genetic planning in place to create humans who, if they were detached from the Matrix, would be more docile, or did they use random selection?

Since the Machines were keeping humans alive, they had to have some method of breeding more, but they couldn't just take humans out of their chambers and let them mate, so how did they do it? And once you get to that question, it seems only logical for the Machines to use genetic selection to create humans that would best suit the Machines' purpose.

Answer 1

Well, based on the fact that people in the Matrix perceived themselves pretty much as they appeared once unlinked, it was probably only random in the same way that people in real life have children.

Two people in the Matrix have a child. They expect the child to look like themselves. Even if the unlinked body wasn't theirs, the Matrix could probably reasonably fake the person's appearance within the Matrix. But it doesn't, since (IIRC) everyone we see who has been unlinked has the same physical features as when they were trapped in the simulation. No fakery was going on.

So based on that, the genetic diversity was because of who the humans chose while in the Matrix.

However, how the child was grown, I can't recall if it was ever touched on. Another possibility instead of artificial insemination or artificial womb is some sort of cloning where the two parents' DNA is mingled directly.

Please note that this answer may be invalidated based on the results of Did People Within The Matrix Always Resemble their Real World Bodies?

Answer 2

Here's a strange possibility: They don't. Because the real world is another simulation. See the answer for supporting observations. If this is the case, it simplifies things greatly. It would mean that we would have no idea what people look like in the real real world -- they may look completely different from their residual self images.

It also explains why the Matrix would even bother with a residual self image that resembles the person's real physiology. It brings up the whole complication of reproduction this question asks about. Why would the machines bother about a person's appearance outside the Matrix if they don't expect him to exit the Matrix? Or survive after he exits.

A father and son that exists all layers of the Matrix may very well find that they're not genetically related at all. There may in fact be only a limited number of lines of humans. Many people may actually be clones of each other.

Answer 3

Upon first seeing the physical earth in the Matrix films, we are shown human farms where people are no longer born but grown. The humans are then placed in pods where body heat is derived as a source of energy. - From http://www.matrixmythology.com/

Answer 4

If the matrix controls everything within a simulation except the human mind, then the way humans perceived their residual self image would also be controlled. This might explain the matching images while in and out of the matrix if the simulation extends beyond the matrix as Izkata proposed. In this reality, Tank and Dozer are not natural born and neither are the rest of the human population.

If the humans are all clones, perhaps they are all genetic variations of only two humans that the machines deemed as exceptional and killed off the rest. These two were the Architect and the Oracle who were linked to the matrix in its infancy and became an indispensable part of the matrix design. Their genetic progeny took on their mental traits giving rise to Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and the like. This may also explain the inherent nature of the Oracle, as a Mother, wants to protect the humans.