Eyeworld

SUMMER 2026 | EYEWORLD | 39 C key intellectual virtues essential for academ- ic flourishing that may be weakened when artificial intelligence is relied upon to perform academic tasks. The first is episteme (knowledge), knowl- edge of one's academic field, its aims, methods, and the conclusions drawn from them. Instead of reading original papers, researchers may rely on AI to provide partial summaries. You may lose the depth of your knowledge, he said. The second is nous (intuition). This is intu- ition based on episteme, knowing which ideas are good ideas, and making judgments within the field based on one's expertise. Lack of sus- tained engagement with original research may diminish the researcher's intuition about the va- lidity of certain ideas and conclusions present in the work. You lose your ability to judge quality of science, Dr. Fernández said. Next, he mentioned sophia (wisdom), a combination of episteme and nous, a higher form of wisdom that is not merely related to one's field, but rather how one's field relates to the rest of life and society. Sustained use of AI may diminish the researcher's ability to discern the right relationship between research, life, and society. You may lose your ability to connect knowledge with life and society, he said. Phronesis (practical wisdom) is the ability to decide how to reach a certain end and the ability of reason to determine what counts as a desirable end. Reliance on AI may lead to an in- creasing reliance on shortcuts to achieve certain Additionally, it allows for repeated practice of uncommon complications that a trainee may not encounter during a standard rotation. Dr. Anshu mentioned several available simulator tools available where she works in the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC): Eyesi (for cataract and vitreoretinal modules) and the HelpMeSee surgery simulator (for MSICS and phaco surgeries, offering advanced haptics and tissue response modeling). The Eyesi module for cataract surgery is a pre-requisite for residents at SNEC before stepping into the OR besides doing wet labs. The slit lamp version by Eyesi is a useful tool to master slit lamp skills and is being used for optometry training locally and as a teaching tool for medical students; it is also a value add for new residents in ophthalmology, she said. She discussed the VisioGen (Zeiss), which can compare resident performance against a database of thousands of expert surgeries. It gives real-time "smart" guidance, with AI mod- els providing automated feedback on instrument path length and procedural duration. It utilizes machine learning to analyze surgical videos to track total path length, velocity of movements, and frequency of ineffective actions. Pavel Stodulka, MD, PhD, presented on robotic platforms in cataract surgery and some early experience in Europe. He highlighted the levels of automation in cataract surgery: manu- al, FLACS, robotic positioning plus laser control, tool manipulation, and supervised autonomy. He discussed the FemtoMatrix laser (Keranova), which enables OR integration. OCT-guided energy optimization enables us to shoot to different paths to use lower energy, Dr. Stodulka added. He mentioned the ORYOM platform (For- Sight Robotics), which is designed specifically for eye surgery. The surgeon sits at a console with 3D imaging and performs surgery. This offers real-time image guidance and advanced visualization, as well as motion scaling and tremor filtering. The future will included supervised au- tonomy, Dr. Stodulka said, adding that robotic cataract surgery is on its way whether we like it or not, and real-world data is needed. Joaquín Fernández, MD, PhD, discussed AI-assisted scientific publishing and improving efficiency without compromising integrity. He highlighted Aristotle's virtue ethics, noting five continued on page 40 Dr. Anshu presented on simulator training and highlighted available technology in this space. Source: ASCRS

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