Redefining Faculty in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Medical Education

Abstract

Introduction
The rapid embrace of digital technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is leading to a paradigm shift for medical education. Peer-to-peer interactions, patient interactions, and human faculty have traditionally been the pillars of medical education. But increasingly, AI systems, from generative language models to intelligent tutoring platforms, assumed faculty-like roles, including lecturing, simulating clinical scenarios, providing feedback, and even advising students. Raising the issue of whether AI tutors should be recognised as “faculty” in medical education, this development does.
The Development of AI Tutors

From basic e-learning systems to advanced systems with competency- based testing, adaptive learning, and individualised feedback, AI-driven tools have evolved. Natural language processing-based models can generate case studies, quiz items, and explanations depending on the levels of proficiency of the learners.1 In parallel, AI-driven clinical case generators and virtual patient simulations provide realistic training environments that mirror the complexity of real healthcare.2 AI instructors now become interactive mentors as well as providing
content. Anatomical and physiological simulations by AI provide individualised instruction previously only provided by human instructors, while conversational agents probe diagnostic reasoning.3,4 Such features
suggest that AI’s role may go beyond the role of a simple “tool” and begin to approach that of a faculty member.

How to cite this article:
Raja D. Redefining Faculty in the Age of Artificial
Intelligence: Implications for Medical Education.
Chettinad Health City Med J. 2025;14(3):1-3.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2278.2044.202531