Article • From technology to responsibility
Will surgeons be replaced by machines in the future? With the rising impact of AI and robotics, this concern is on the minds of many medical professionals and patients alike. At the 2026 German Surgery Congress, Prof. Dr Jörg-Peter Ritz, President of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV) and Chief Physician and Medical Director at Helios Kliniken Schwerin, painted a more nuanced picture of how AI is already being used in surgery today, what it will be capable of in the near future, and where the limits lie.