Artificial intelligence is entering classrooms to teach medical oncology. Italy is leading the way with the first study of its kind, called “AI Learning,” which will assess how well medical students learn when taught by AI-powered avatars. This innovative teaching platform, developed by the start-up ctcHealth, is named Plato. It offers an immersive and personalized educational experience and was recently unveiled at the Italian Summit on Precision Medicine, an international event organized by the Foundation for Personalized Medicine (FMP) in Rome, attended by over 150 experts.
The complexity of current diagnostic and therapeutic pathways requires highly specialized and tailored training, explains Paolo Marchetti, president of FMP and scientific director at IDI-IRCCS in Rome. Over the past fifty years, traditional teaching methods have seen very few changes, evolving from overhead projectors to electronic slides but without any real transformation in teaching practices. Plato represents a true leap forward, integrating advanced technology with a more interactive and engaging educational approach.
The research project initially focuses on oncology but aims to expand into other fields of medicine. Giuseppe Curigliano, president-elect of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), professor of medical oncology at the University of Milan, and director of the Division for New Drug Development for Innovative Therapies at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan, believes that Plato has the potential to revolutionize medical education. Developed by a team of experts in education and artificial intelligence, it marks an important Italian contribution to the global landscape of advanced educational technologies. Plato may also be used to train members of Molecular Tumor Boards, multidisciplinary teams that are key players in the evolving model of precision oncology. The system is capable of analyzing genomic profiling data along with clinical information derived from precision oncology research within these boards.
The AI Learning study, promoted by FMP and hosted at Sapienza University of Rome, will start in September 2025. It will involve around 120 medical students in the final two years of their program.
Domenico Alvaro, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Sapienza University, emphasizes the institution’s strong commitment to experimenting with innovative teaching strategies to enhance the education of future healthcare professionals. In a time marked by the digital and technological transformation of health sciences, it is crucial to prepare highly skilled professionals in new technologies. The educational project coordinated by Professor Botticelli, along with several initiatives led by Professor Marchetti, perfectly fits into this vision.