Technology-enhanced learning in medical education in the age of artificial intelligence

This paper explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical education, emphasizing its role as a pedagogical tool for technology-enhanced learning. This highlights AI’s potential to enhance the learning process in various inquiry-based learning strategies and support Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) by generating high-quality assessment items with automated and personalized feedback, analyzing data from both human supervisors and AI, and helping predict the future professional behavior of the current trainees. It also addresses the inherent challenges and limitations of using AI in student assessment, calling for guidelines to ensure its valid and ethical use. Furthermore, the integration of AI into virtual patient (VP) technology to offer experiences in patient encounters significantly enhances interactivity and realism by overcoming limitations in conventional VPs. Although incorporating chatbots into VPs is promising, further research is warranted to enhance their generalizability across various clinical scenarios. The paper also discusses the preferences of Generation Z learners and suggests a conceptual framework on how to integrate AI into teaching and supporting their learning, aligning with the needs of today’s students by utilizing the adaptive capabilities of AI. Overall, this paper highlights areas of medical education where AI can play pivotal roles to overcome educational challenges and offers perspectives on future developments where AI can play a transformative role in medical education. It also calls for future research to advance the theory and practice of utilizing AI tools to innovate educational practices tailored to the needs of today’s students and to understand the long-term impacts of AI-driven learning environments.