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Conference Title: Medical Humanities in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Technology, Medicine, and Death

Time and Place: 28 June 2026 (Sun), Yonsei University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

Organizers: Yonsei Institute of Medical History, Yonsei University School of Medical Humanities, and East Asian Medical Anthropology Network

Medical Humanities in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Technology, Medicine, and Death

In this era of artificial intelligence and digital technology, references to rapid technological development have become almost clichéd—so much so that they often merely convey a sense of being held captive by techno-optimism. This is largely because, despite radical advances in AI, including claims about the imminent establishment of artificial general intelligence platforms, we continue to inhabit a world of social relations grounded primarily in non-technological, or largely humane, connections: eye-to-eye contact, empathic engagement, and everyday civil interactions. Technological hype has existed for millennia in human history, and in this sense it is important to remember that technology consists of artefacts made and controlled by human beings, rather than autonomous entities with their own agency or intentions.

Medicine—the skill, practice and body of knowledge concerned with human life and the body—has long been intertwined with technological development and has taken shape across diverse social and cultural contexts. In most cases, medical progress has been aided by technology, although at times technology has actively initiated new branches of medicine, as in the case of nuclear medicine. While techno-optimism certainly exists and generates its own discourses, medicine has not been fully overtaken by it. This is due in part to the ethical, legal, and moral challenges posed by the introduction of new technologies into medical practice. Or the rhythms and dynamism of embodied human presence, or the nuts and bolts of the infrastructures that constitute medical practice, might simply be restraining the excesses of technological hype within the field.

Death is critical here, as it ultimately serves as the final arbiter of human fate. Despite soaring promises of technological utopia, discussions of death inevitably remain philosophical, and often spiritual. In this sense, engaging with death may be the most profoundly humane practice situated at the intersection of medicine and technology. Death thus exposes a gap within modern medicine, which tends to view it primarily as something to be avoided—particularly in the era of scientific medicine, which has largely severed its ties with religious traditions. And it engages our moral realm and calls us to confront reality stripped of unnecessary trappings, forcing us to understand life in more simplified terms. For this reason, death should not, and indeed cannot, be fully medicalised.

This conference aims to explore the intersection of these themes in their broadest sense, deliberately challenging disciplinary and geographical boundaries. Contributions may address any subject, provided they are grounded in rigorous discussions of the issues outlined above.

Scholars from history, philosophy, ethics, anthropology, and related fields are warmly invited to submit a 200 words abstract of their proposed paper by 20 March 2026 to yonsei.medhumanthro.2026@gmail.com.

The conference will be held on 28 June 2026 at Yonsei University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea and is jointly organised by the Yonsei Institute of Medical History, the Yonsei University School of Medical Humanities, and the East Asian Medical Anthropology Network(EAMAN).