The Algorithm in the Operating Theatre: Is AI a Booby Trap for Surgical Care?

Artificial intelligence is entering the operating theatre with the promise of enhanced precision, efficiency, and expanded surgical access. Yet beneath this technological advance lie substantial risks: erosion of surgeons' manual expertise through automation dependence, opaque algorithmic decision-making that obscures accountability, bias embedded in training data affecting diverse patient outcomes, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities in life-critical systems. The Algorithm in the Operating Theatre: Is AI a Booby Trap for Surgical Care? critically interrogates whether AI's transformative potential conceals hidden dangers to clinical judgment and patient safety, calling for rigorous, evidence-based scrutiny before intelligent systems become indispensable fixtures of surgical practice.