Kresge Center Lecture discusses the challenges of AI and healthcare

“We need nurses involved in AI technology right now,” said Maxim Topaz during his keynote address at the 2026 Kresge Center Lecture, Using Artificial Intelligence to Advance Nursing and Health: Tools, Pitfalls and Practical Workflows. The event, which drew more than 450 attendees, was held Feb. 6 at Binghamton University.

Maxim Topaz, PhD, RN, MA, FAAN, FACMI, FIAHSI, is the Elizabeth Standish Gill Associate Professor of Nursing and Data Science at Columbia University, a senior research scientist at VNS Health, and a visiting scholar at the University of Maribor in Slovenia. He is a pioneer in applying natural language processing to nursing documentation. His research focuses on improving human health through cutting-edge technologies and on developing AI solutions that help health providers care for patients, leveraging AI, text mining, and automated speech and video processing to transform healthcare delivery.

Topaz has secured over $20 million in federal funding and published more than 190 articles on AI solutions that predict patient deterioration from nursing notes, enhance clinical decision-making, and reduce the documentation burden for frontline nurses.

“If AI tools are integrated appropriately into our practice, we can make informed decisions based on the best available literature and the best available data analysis,” he said. “All of those skills that require lots of prep and lots of knowledge, AI can do that work for you, and that’s a cool thing.”

However, Topaz noted that the rapid pace of development and the lack of nurses involved in developing the technology are problematic.

“Continuous involvement of nurses is required to make these AI technologies applicable to clinical nursing practice,” he added. “If nurses are not included from development, through implementation and refinement, these technologies will not work for us. They will not work for our patients.”

Following his keynote address, Topaz moderated a panel featuring three experts in AI and nursing:

• Ann Fronczek, PhD, RN, is an associate professor of nursing and director of undergraduate and PhD nursing programs at Binghamton’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She is also associate director of the University’s Institute for AI in Society and co-project director of the Southern Tier Telehealth Center.
• Laura-Maria Peltonen, PhD, RN, is an associate professor in the Department of Social and Health Management at the University of Eastern Finland; an associate professor in the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Turku in Finland; and a visiting associate professor at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom.
• Meghan Reading Turchioe, PhD, MPH, RN, FAHA, is an assistant professor of nursing at the Columbia University School of Nursing.

Panelists presented their views on topics such as whether patients should allow ChatGPT to access their medical records, whether nurses should be held legally responsible for clinical decisions made with AI assistance, and whether patients should have the right to refuse AI involvement in their care, even if it means worse outcomes.

Additionally, all three panelists emphasized the need for nurses to be at the table when decisions are made about which technologies and tools are added to their workflow.

The 2026 Kresge Lecture included a poster session featuring research projects from across Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Binghamton University and our healthcare partners. The event was sponsored by Decker College’s Office of Research and Scholarship, Binghamton University’s Center for AI in Society, and the Roger L. and Mary K. Kresge Center.