The Ontological and Ethical Limits of Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Practice

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare raises important questions about the foundational nature of nursing practice. As AI systems, such as clinical decision support, predictive analytics, and automated assessments, increasingly influence nurse-patient interactions, nursing must examine how authentic care can continue when patients are reduced to algorithmic data. Drawing on phenomenology, hermeneutics, Heidegger, and Levinas, this analysis examines conflicts between AI's computational logic and nursing's relational essence. Examples like electronic health record risk scores, remote monitoring, and AI-assisted education demonstrate that uncritical AI adoption risks replacing practical wisdom, turning patients into measurable resources, and weakening embodied nursing judgment. AI provides valuable pattern recognition and evidence synthesis. However, it cannot replicate the ethical, face-to-face encounter central to care. Instead of rejecting technology, this analysis recommends positioning nurses as the mediating presence within the nurse-patient-technology relationship. Thoughtful AI integration should support and strengthen nursing's human-centered, ethical approach.