In a recent post on X, Elon Musk made a bold, controversial claim: “Robots will surpass good human surgeons within a few years and the best human surgeons within ~5 years.”

Regardless of the accuracy of Musk’s assessment, there’s no question that surgical robotics has been getting better and better each year. 

If you have a certain surgery in the near future—for instance, a knee replacement or kidney stone removal—odds are good that your surgery will be completed or assisted by a robot. And part of how these machines have been able to perform so well in surgery is that many of them are now enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI).