Exploring the Role of Human and Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Practice

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

During the summer of 2025, the IC² Institute is hosting a series of facilitated conversations with practicing physicians to understand how AI is shaping their medical knowledge and expertise and how AI is impacting patient care. Participating physicians practice not only in Texas but in various cities throughout the United States. All are at the forefront of AI applications in health care.

PROJECT GOALS

• Understand how AI is reshaping clinical knowledge and decision-making.
• Identify where human intelligence, as opposed to artificial intelligence, continues to lead — especially in areas such as contextual awareness, ethical judgement, and bias mitigation.
• Explore how clinicians are adapting their skills and redefining expertise in AI-augmented environments.
• Capture both qualitative insights and quantitative indicators of change, such as improvements in clinical outcomes, decision quality, and clinician well-being.

METHODS

Through either in-person or online conversations, participating physicians are fielding a variety of questions, with ample time given for in-depth response and reflection. Questions touch on a number of themes: AI use and integration; patient communication; expertise and knowledge; skil development; ethics and trust.

Example questions include:

• What new problems are you solving – or solving differently – because of AI?
• How should we be measuring AI’s impact on clinical decision-making?
• How does your use of AI affect your patients’ trust in you?
• Have you discovered new ideas, patterns or knowledge through AI use?

WHAT’S NEXT

Researchers are viewing each of these conversations as (anonymous) case studies and plan to publish the case studies later this year.