Rediscovering medical humanism in the age of artificial intelligence: lessons from historical medical traditions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming diagnosis, treatment selection, prognostic assessment, and administrative work in medicine. Although these technologies may improve efficiency and clinical performance, their integration also raises questions about medical humanism, professional responsibility, and the physician-patient relationship. This narrative historical review examines the contributions of Hippocrates, Asclepiades, Galen, Avicenna, and Maimonides to the relationship between medical knowledge, clinical judgment, and moral responsibility, and considers how these historical traditions may inform contemporary debates on AI in medicine and oncology. Primary historical texts and secondary scholarly literature were examined through a targeted, non-systematic approach, with emphasis on clinical observation, therapeutic responsibility, the physician-patient relationship, and the ethical purposes of medicine. The analysis identifies three normative themes of contemporary relevance: the non-delegable responsibility of the physician, the relational and contextual nature of clinical reasoning, and the ethical limits of technological optimization. Contemporary philosophy of medicine and recent AI ethics literature provide a conceptual bridge between these historical traditions and current technological practice. This bridge might be the source of a lack of humanism in daily practice and a deterioration in patient-physician relationship. In oncology, these principles related to AI use are particularly relevant to AI-assisted imaging and pathology, molecular profiling, treatment selection, prognostic prediction, and shared decision-making. AI should, therefore, be understood as a clinical instrument whose value depends not only on technical performance, but also on its integration into relationships of trust, accountability, and patient-centered care.