As artificial intelligence tools proliferate in hospitals and clinics, the medical community faces urgent questions about how to validate, monitor, and govern these technologies without compromising patient safety or professional judgment. The International Society of Medical AI (ISMAI), an independent, clinician-led international medical AI society, will convene its flagship scientific meeting, the International Symposium on Medical AI (ISMAI 2026), on 3–4 December 2026 at the Aula Magna, Careggi University Hospital in Florence, Italy. The two-day event will bring together clinicians, AI scientists, researchers, ethicists, legal scholars, and healthcare leaders to examine how AI is entering clinical medicine and what this means for evidence, patient safety, clinical judgement, ethics, governance, and professional responsibility.
Under the theme “The Renaissance of Clinical Intelligence,” the programme places the clinical consequences of medical AI at the centre of the discussion. Confirmed faculty include Edward H. Shortliffe, Vimla L. Patel, Ewout W. Steyerberg, Niels Peek, Laure Wynants, Kerstin Denecke, Giovanni Sartor, and Iain Buchan, alongside other clinicians, scientists, ethicists, legal scholars, and healthcare leaders from several countries. Their participation signals that the symposium will not be a vendor showcase but a serious scientific and ethical forum.
The timing reflects a growing consensus that AI is outpacing medicine’s ability to establish common approaches to evidence, oversight, and responsibility. “Artificial intelligence is entering clinical practice faster than medicine has established common approaches to evidence, oversight and responsibility,” said Dr Omar Tujjar, President of the International Society of Medical AI. “The central questions are what evidence should be required, what must remain under professional judgement, and how responsibility should work when AI becomes part of care.”
Those questions carry profound implications for how AI tools are adopted, regulated, and trusted. The scientific programme covers foundations of medical AI; clinical AI implementation; validation and patient safety; ethics and philosophy; healthcare AI governance; and medical AI education and professional formation. Sessions will address clinical validation, algorithm monitoring, failure reporting, accountability, regulation, human judgement, and the implementation of AI across the patient pathway. By focusing on these areas, ISMAI 2026 aims to produce actionable guidance for clinicians, hospital administrators, regulators, and developers.
ISMAI 2026 is clinician-led and vendor-neutral, with scientific programming, faculty selection, abstract review, and accreditation separated from commercial influence. This independence is crucial for maintaining credibility as AI companies increasingly fund medical research and education. The symposium carries 12 CME / CPD credits, and abstract submissions across clinical, scientific, ethical, technical, and governance themes remain open until 20 October 2026. Further information is available at https://florence.ismai.org.
The International Society of Medical AI (ISMAI) is an independent, clinician-led, vendor-neutral medical AI society and registered charity in Ireland (RCN 20206982), focused on the safe, evidence-based, ethical, and responsible implementation of artificial intelligence in medicine. By convening this symposium, ISMAI seeks to ensure that the integration of AI into clinical care is guided by evidence, professional responsibility, and patient safety rather than by commercial interests alone.
