The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Nephrology Education

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models are increasingly reshaping nephrology education. This review advances a hierarchical framework for understanding AI in nephrology education. At the primary level, AI may represent a scalable educational infrastructure that helps address the mismatch between educational demand and delivery capacity. At the secondary level, 3 mechanisms enable this infrastructure: workflow integration, continuous adaptation, and scalability. At the tertiary level, downstream outcomes include enhanced clinical reasoning, curriculum acceleration, burden reduction, improved patient education, and equitable access. However, safe and effective implementation requires addressing limitations related to accuracy, hallucinations, bias, transparency, privacy, and alignment with evolving clinical guidelines. Emerging innovations, including adaptive tutors, digital twins, and AI-orchestrated curricula, highlight a rapidly evolving educational ecosystem. Overall, AI and large language models hold substantial promise to modernize nephrology education and patient engagement, provided they are integrated with rigorous governance, continuous expert oversight, and ethical safeguards.