Watching old episodes of ER won't make you a doctor, but watching videos may be all the training a robotic surgeon's AI brain needs to sew you up after a procedure. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University have published a new paper showing off a surgical robot as capable as a human in carrying out some procedures after simply watching humans do so.

A robot, trained solely by observing seasoned surgeons on video, has successfully replicated complex surgical procedures, performing with a skill level comparable to experienced human doctors. Researchers note that by successfully using imitation learning to train surgical robots,

Researchers have developed a robot capable of performing surgical procedures with the same skill as human doctors by training it using videos of surgeries. The team from Johns Hopkins and Stanford Universities harnessed imitation learning,

It takes years of intense study and a steady hand for humans to perform surgery, but robots might have an easier time picking it up with today's AI technology.

Robotic surgery is already used widely, and having an AI capable of handling parts of an operation independently could allow human surgeons to concentrate on more complex issues, ultimately leading to

A robot, trained for the first time by watching videos of seasoned surgeons, executed the same surgical procedures as skillfully as the human doctors.

But before it gets to work on human patients, the tiny robotic arms practiced on a pork loin. Doctors have increasingly integrated the da Vinci Surgical System into an array of procedures since the device’s debut in 2000.

A research team used videos of surgeries and the machine learning architecture behind ChatGPT to successfully train a robot to do basic tasks like manipulate a needle, lift body tissue and suture. Why it matters: Showing a robot can perform with the skill of a doctor opens up new possibilities for devices like the widely used da Vinci surgical system and reduce the risk of medical errors,