Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Intensive Care Medicine: Critical Recalibrations from Rule-Based...

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are rapidly transforming clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) in intensive care units (ICUs), where vast amounts of real-time data present both an opportunity and a challenge for timely clinical decision-making. Here, we trace the evolution of machine intelligence in critical care. This technology has been applied across key ICU domains such as early warning systems, sepsis management, mechanical ventilation, and diagnostic support. We highlight a transition from rule-based systems to more sophisticated machine learning approaches, including emerging frontier models. While these tools demonstrate strong potential to improve predictive performance and workflow efficiency, their implementation remains constrained by concerns around transparency, workflow integration, bias, and regulatory challenges. Ensuring the safe, effective, and ethical use of AI in intensive care will depend on validated, human-centered systems supported by transdisciplinary collaboration, technological literacy, prospective evaluation, and continuous monitoring.