The Great AI Debate — Just Because We Can, Should We?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a future disruptor—it’s already shaping how we design, deliver, and evaluate continuing healthcare education. Yet despite its growing use, key questions about how, when, and why we use AI in education—and what broader consequences these choices carry—remain largely unexamined.

This interactive 90-minute session brings together a cross-section of ACEHP’s member sections for a rare, structured debate on the unasked, uncomfortable, and often neglected questions AI raises for our profession. In a moderated debate, panelists will challenge assumptions, confront blind spots, and examine the ethical, practical, and human implications of integrating AI into accredited medical education.

Key areas of debate will include human and cognitive impacts, efficiency tradeoffs, ethical and societal considerations, and professional accountability, such as:
-Workforce and cognitive implications: Does AI meaningfully reduce workload—or does it shift responsibilities, introduce new forms of labor, or contribute to skill erosion?
-Efficiency claims vs implementation realities: Is AI truly a time-saver, or does it introduce oversight demands and resource burdens that may reduce overall efficiency?
-Environmental considerations: What are the overlooked energy consumption and carbon footprint implications of widespread AI adoption in continuing education?
-Impact on critical thinking: How might reliance on AI affect the development and maintenance of essential cognitive and decision-making skills among educators and learners?
-Bias amplification and ethical blind spots: What are subtle yet significant biases embedded in AI algorithms, and how do they perpetuate or create inequities in medical education?
-Accountability and responsibility: When AI-generated tools shape learning or make content decisions, how should professional responsibility be defined and maintained?

This session challenges conventional thinking and invites a wide range of perspectives on the often-overlooked dimensions of AI integration in medical education. Throughout the program, the audience will have the opportunity to engage in candid discussion about the complex and far-reaching implications of AI for the future of our profession.

As AI becomes increasingly embedded in how we educate healthcare professionals, this session offers a timely opportunity to pause, reflect, and raise the questions that often go unspoken. By creating space for rigorous debate and candid dialogue, we aim to equip our community to shape AI’s role in our field with intention, integrity, and accountability.