The Hierarchical Surgical Robot Transformer (SRT-H) brings step-level autonomy to surgery by combining a language-driven high-level planner with a vision-guided low-level executor. Trained on over 16,000 demonstrations, it completed the clipping-and-cutting phase of gallbladder removal with 100% success in ex-vivo trials, adapting to variations and self-correcting without human intervention—marking a milestone toward clinically viable autonomous surgery.

This article explores how AI is transforming science and medicine in 2025. From breakthroughs in protein engineering and brain mapping to outperforming doctors in clinical diagnosis, AI is becoming an active research partner and clinical assistant. It highlights key findings from Stanford’s AI Index Report, including the rise of virtual labs, predictive healthcare models, AI scribes, and the importance of ethical, inclusive, and regulated deployment.