Over the past several years, our community has navigated extraordinary change, driven by the pandemic, evolving healthcare systems, workforce pressures and the accelerating pace of innovation. We have grown more adaptable, more data-driven and more collaborative. But in just the last few months, and especially in recent weeks, it has become clear that we have crossed a new and important threshold. Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging topic in continuing education. It is now a defining issue of professional responsibility.

Recent guidance from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) on the responsible use of AI underscores this shift. The ACCME, in this guidance, is not discouraging innovation or experimentation; it sees real promise in the use of AI to improve educational design, efficiency, personalization, data analysis and learner support. For those of us who are providing education, AI has been positioned as innovation and has quickly moved into the domain of compliance, ethics, independence, valid content and learner trust. The message is unmistakable: as educators, we are now accountable not only for whether we use AI, but for how we use it, and whether that use preserves the integrity and independence that defines accredited education.

This moment demands our attention, not because of technology itself, but because of the challenges at the core of our profession.

A Shift in the Social Contract of Accredited Education

At its heart, accredited continuing education is built on learner trust. Physicians and healthcare teams rely on us to deliver learning that is scientifically valid, free from bias, and grounded in the best available evidence. Patients ultimately depend on that trust.

AI introduces powerful new capabilities that can enhance how we design, deliver, and evaluate education. But it also introduces new risks, risks to content accuracy, to transparency, and to the clear separation between education and influence. ACCME’s recent guidance emphasizes these concerns directly, highlighting the need to safeguard content integrity, learner trust, and patient confidentiality as AI is incorporated into CE. In other words, the conversation has evolved from “Can AI help us?” to “Can we use AI in ways that uphold the standards that matter most?" That is not a technical question. It is a professional one.

Redefining the Role of the CME Professional

At the same time, AI is reshaping the work we do every day. Tools that generate content, synthesize evidence, analyze outcomes data and personalize learning are rapidly becoming more accessible. These capabilities hold tremendous promise, but they also signal a shift in expectations for our workforce. Increasingly, the value of the CME professional will not lie in producing education alone, but in overseeing systems that produce education.

This includes:

• Ensuring that AI-assisted content is accurate, balanced and evidence-based.
• Interpreting data insights responsibly and in context.
• Establishing policies that govern the ethical use of emerging technologies.
• Serving as stewards of independence and transparency in new digital environments.

At the same time, learner demand is evolving. Clinicians are actively seeking education on emerging trends, including AI itself, and expect formats that are more dynamic, accessible, and tailored to their needs.

This convergence of technology capability, learner expectation and professional responsibility is redefining what it means to work in continuing education. This means that accountability becomes even more prevalent. With existing ACCME requirements already in place. We must consider current standards if AI is used to create, curate, summarize, personalize or deliver accredited education. It is crucial that we, the providers, are still responsible for ensuring that the content is accurate, balanced, evidence-based, free of commercial bias and protective of learner and patient confidentiality. AI is still evolving and not perfect; therefore, AI that interacts directly with learners, generates clinical recommendations or adapts educational content in real time creates a higher level of risk and requires controls in place to ensure accuracy and patient safety.

Navigating Ambiguity and Risk

What makes this moment particularly challenging is that many of the rules are still being written.

Across our organizations, teams are asking important, and often unresolved questions:

• Can AI be used to draft or summarize educational content?
• How should AI involvement be disclosed to learners?
• Who is accountable if AI-generated material contains errors or bias?
• How do we ensure that data used in AI tools is handled appropriately and securely?

These are not hypothetical concerns. They are real operational and ethical decisions being made every day, often without clear precedent. ACCME’s recent communications, including alerts related to AI and compliance, underscore the urgency of addressing these questions proactively.  As a field, we cannot afford to wait for perfect clarity. We must lead through the ambiguity. As we leverage the various resources in AI, we must remember that responsibility will always belong to the provider and not the outsourced platforms, faculty or partners. As the ACCME has pointed out, the accredited provider remains responsible for what the learner experiences and for the validity and independence of the education.

Why This Moment Matters for the Alliance

For the Alliance, this is more than a topic; it is a leadership opportunity. Our community sits at the intersection of education, healthcare and professional development. We bring together individuals and organizations who are deeply committed to improving patient care through learning. And we have a long history of shaping best practices in times of change. Today, we are called to do that again.

This is an opportunity to:

• Define shared principles for the responsible use of AI in continuing education.
• Equip our workforce with the skills and competencies needed for a rapidly evolving environment.
• Advocate for standards that preserve the independence and integrity of accredited CE.
• Foster dialogue and collaboration across organizations to address common challenges.

Perhaps most importantly, it is an opportunity to reaffirm what distinguishes our work. In a world where information is abundant and increasingly generated at scale, the value of accredited education lies in its credibility. In its intentional design. In its commitment to improving practice and patient outcomes. That value does not diminish with new technology. It becomes more important. We must produce education that helps clinicians to use AI in its various platforms thoughtfully and responsibly, preserving both their own and our own professionalism.

From Adoption to Accountability

If there is a single idea I would ask you to take from this moment, it is this: “We are moving from adoption to accountability.”

The question is no longer whether we will use AI in continuing education. That future is already here. The question is whether we will lead its integration in ways that reflect our highest standards.

That means acting now:

• Developing organizational principles for AI use in CE.
• Investing in workforce development, especially in data and AI literacy.
• Engaging in conversations within and across organizations about ethics, transparency and trust.
• Sharing insights, challenges and solutions as a community.

None of us will navigate this alone. And none of us need to.

Looking Ahead

The decisions we make at this moment will shape the future of our profession, how we define quality, how we build trust and how we prepare the next generation of continuing education leaders.

I am confident in our ability to meet this challenge — not because it is easy, but because it aligns so closely with who we are. The Alliance has always been a community of leaders, innovators and stewards of excellence. This is our next opportunity to lead.

And I look forward to the work ahead... together!

From the Almanac

Recently, the Almanac published the first article in a series written by the ALET™ Collaboratory, which challenges healthcare CPD professionals to design education to not just transfer knowledge but to drive confident clinical action. 

And Heather Ranels takes us back to 1995 when the Almanac launched its first homepage! Take a journey through time in this 50-year anniversary article. 

All the best in your leadership and collaboration in the CME profession!

Vince Loffredo, EdD

President, Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions