Events

2026 ISE Consensus Conference

Shaping Human–AI Collaboration in Surgery

December 3-5, 2026 in Orlando, Florida

Purpose

Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, multimodal sensing, and real-time analytics are rapidly reshaping the operating room (OR). As these capabilities expand, the critical challenge is no longer whether AI belongs in surgery, but how humans and intelligent systems should interact in a high-stakes, cognitively demanding surgical environment. The future OR will operate as an adaptive, closed-loop system where AI continuously aligns itself to human cognitive state, surgical context, and team needs.

The 2026 ISE Consensus Conference will convene global leaders across surgery, robotics, human factors, neuroergonomics, computer vision, OR management, industry, and government regulators. Together, they will define the principles, safety standards, and best practices that ensure AI enhances human performance in the OR of the future.

Focus Areas

The conference will generate consensus statements and a Delphi-informed standards framework focused on three foundational domains:

1. Human Factors, Cognition & Interface Design - defining how AI systems should communicate, guide, and alert surgeons without distracting, overwhelming, or undermining clinical judgment

2. Team Dynamics, Workflow Integration & Hybrid OR Collaboration - characterizing how AI reshapes communication, coordination, and shared mental models across the entire operating room team

3. Collaborative Robots, Automation & Shared Autonomy - Establishing safety and governance standards for collaborative robots and supervised autonomy in surgical care

Deliverables

There will be several high-impact outputs of the consensus conference that will shape clinical practice, technology development, and regulatory frameworks, including:

• A Delphi-informed global consensus framework

• Standards for autonomy, human–AI interaction, and interface design

• Guidelines for cognitive load management, human factors testing, and team integration

• A safety and performance roadmap for AI-enhanced surgery

• A peer-reviewed consensus publication in a major surgical or digital medicine journal

Conclusion

The 2026 ISE Consensus Conference will help shape a multidisciplinary Delphi-informed standards framework for the safe and effective human–AI collaboration in the operating room.