When AI Makes the Work Easier, Are We Still Building the Leader?
As AI transforms how medicine is practiced, this article asks a deeper question: Are we enhancing learning, or removing the experiences that develop clinical judgment and future leaders?
What happens when the tools that make experienced physicians better at their work may make it harder for learners to develop the very skills they need to become physicians?
In this New York Times opinion piece, physician Rachael Bedard explores a tension that extends well beyond artificial intelligence: the difference between performing a task and developing the capability to perform it independently. AI can provide answers, accelerate reasoning, and reduce cognitive burden. But for medical students and residents, the struggle to reason through uncertainty, make decisions, recognize patterns, and learn from mistakes is part of the development process itself.
From an HLF perspective, this raises an important leadership-development question: Are we using technology to enhance learning, or are we inadvertently removing the experiences through which people learn to lead?
Leadership development is not simply about acquiring knowledge. It requires experience, reflection, feedback, and the opportunity to practice judgment. As healthcare increasingly incorporates AI into clinical and organizational decision-making, educators and leaders must be intentional about which cognitive and interpersonal capabilities technology can support and which still require humans to practice, struggle with, and develop.
This is particularly relevant to HLF's developmental approach: new knowledge + experience + reflection = lasting development. The question is not whether learners should use AI. It is how we design learning environments where AI strengthens human capability rather than replacing the developmental experiences that build it.
Reflection Questions
Where might AI enhance learning, and where might it unintentionally short-circuit development?
What capabilities do emerging healthcare leaders need to practice rather than simply access?
As AI takes on more cognitive work, what uniquely human skills should leadership development emphasize?
Where in your organization might efficiency be coming at the expense of development?