We’ve talked about AI replacing GPs, diagnosing diseases before you even finish describing your symptoms, and making sure you never accidentally get referred to a doctor who’s been dead since the Howard government, which happened to me because our computer system was not updated. But what about surgeons? Surely, the gods of the operating theatre are safe from the relentless march of technology?

Well… not so fast.

Robots Are Already in the OR—And They Don’t Get Coffee Breaks

Surgeons like to think of themselves as the last line of defense against automation. Steady hands, years of training, a finely tuned instinct honed over decades—surely no robot can replace that?

Except… they already have.
• Da Vinci robots are already assisting in thousands of surgeries worldwide, offering precision no human hand can match. They can perform complex procedures through tiny incisions, reducing recovery times and leaving scars so small that future dermatologists might need AI just to find them.
• AI can now analyze thousands of surgeries, learning from every mistake ever made, ensuring it never forgets to remove a sponge or sew up an instrument inside someone. (Looking at you, 20th-century surgery mishaps.)
• Soon, AI may predict complications before they happen, warning surgeons mid-procedure: “You might want to adjust your approach before this turns into a lawsuit.”

And let’s be honest: if you had the choice between a robot with sub-millimeter precision or Dr. Jenkins, who just came back from a two-week holiday in Ibiza, who would you choose?

Will Surgeons Be Reduced to Button-Pushers?

Picture the operating theatre of 2057:
• The patient is prepped by a team of AI-driven robotic arms, each moving with flawless coordination.
• The lead surgeon stands in the corner, sipping a coffee, occasionally issuing commands like a football coach shouting instructions from the sidelines.
• The AI performs 98% of the surgery, pausing only to ask, “Would you like to proceed with the next step?” before slicing with precision that Michelangelo would envy.
• The surgeon, out of sheer nostalgia, places one ceremonial stitch at the end—just to feel useful.

And just like that, a 12-hour open-heart surgery is completed in 45 minutes.

Brilliant? Terrifying? Both?

The Economics of Surgical Automation

Now, let’s talk money. Governments love efficiency even more than they love budget cuts.
• If AI can perform surgery faster, cheaper, and with fewer mistakes, expect a whole lot of hospital administrators to start asking why they’re still paying human surgeons six figures.
• Robot-assisted surgeries will drive down costs, meaning the days of million-dollar surgical fees might be numbered.
• Private hospitals, always looking for ways to increase profit margins, will have to decide: do we really need a human surgeon when a machine can do the job with fewer complications and no risk of malpractice lawsuits?

Now, of course, human surgeons won’t disappear entirely. There will always be edge cases, emergencies, and that one guy who insists he only trusts “a real person” to fix his knee.

But will the average surgeon still be performing procedures the way they do today? Doubtful.

The Human Factor: Can AI Handle the Unexpected?

One argument surgeons might cling to is “But what about the unpredictable? The bizarre, once-in-a-career cases that aren’t in the algorithm?”

Good question.
• What happens when a patient’s anatomy is weird?
• What if a complication occurs that no AI has ever seen before?
• What if the robot’s algorithm is 99.9% sure it’s doing the right thing, but that 0.1% leads to disaster?

This is where human judgment still matters.

A robot might be flawless in textbook surgeries, but when things go sideways? You’ll want an old-school, battle-hardened surgeon with experience, intuition, and—let’s face it—sheer dumb luck.

The Future: Cyborg Surgeons?

Maybe the real future isn’t human vs. AI, but human and AI combined.
• Surgeons with augmented reality implants, overlaying AI-driven recommendations in real-time as they operate.
• Exoskeleton-assisted surgeons, allowing humans to perform with robotic precision but with the adaptability of real-world experience.
• Brain-computer interfaces, where a surgeon can think a command, and the robotic assistant executes it instantly.

A terrifying sci-fi nightmare? Or the dawn of surgical perfection?

The Final Incision

The writing is on the wall—or perhaps etched into the motherboard of the next-generation surgical AI.
• The next 30 years will transform surgery beyond recognition.
• AI and robotics will reduce costs, increase precision, and minimize human error.
• The best surgeons will learn to work with AI, not against it.
• And if you think surgeons today have egos, just wait until we have robotic surgeons that can quote their own success rates in real time.

And so, the question isn’t “Will AI replace surgeons?”

The real question is: Will surgeons of the future still be called surgeons… or will they just be the human supervisors making sure the robots don’t get too cocky?

Paul Alexander Wolf