A Coruña, March 19^th, 2026

The Spanish Royal Academy of Medicine (RANM) hosted on March 18^th an extraordinary scientific session entitled “Academies and AI: Scientific foundations of medical AI”, a gathering that brought together leading national and international experts in artificial intelligence applied to healthcare. Coordinated by professor Víctor Maojo, the session included the participation of Alejandro Pazos, an academic and researcher at the CITIC.

Among the international speakers were pioneers in medical AI such as Robert A. Greenes, from the University of California in San Diego, Arizona State University, and Harvard Medical School, specialising in clinical decision support systems; Casimir A. Kulikowski, from Rutgers University, creator of the CASNET causal network system; Edward H. Shortliffe, affiliated with Columbia University, Arizona State University, and Stanford University, developer of expert systems such as MYCIN and ONCOCIN; and Peter Szolovits, from MIT, a leader in collaborative clinical decision systems. For more than three hours, the experts shared their pioneering experiences from the 1960s and 70s, demonstrating how those innovative ideas laid the foundation for today’s medical artificial intelligence.

The session addressed the scientific foundations of medical AI, emphasising that it is not merely about technology, but about scientific knowledge built up over decades of research. Key topics were discussed, such as the integration of AI into biomedical research and the training of future medical staff, who will need to carry out their work in an increasingly digital and AI-assisted healthcare environment. The need for hospitals and primary care centres to adapt to these digital environments was underlined, integrating these tools in an ethical and safe manner. Furthermore, the opportunities and risks posed by AI-assisted medicine were analysed, ranging from improved diagnosis and personalised treatments to ethical challenges and clinical accountability.

The event was opened by Eduardo Díaz-Rubio, president of the RANM, alongside Miguel López-Valverde, Regional Minister for Digitalisation of the Community of Madrid, and Ignacio Para Rodríguez-Santana, president of the Bamberg Foundation. The closing session was led by Nuria Ruiz, Director-General of Digital Health for the Community of Madrid, and Víctor Maojo, who highlighted the importance of AI as a scientific tool with a growing impact on contemporary medicine.