What is the current state of surgical robotics and AI in the NHS?

Over 130 NHS trusts have robotic surgical programmes, primarily using tele-operated systems (like da Vinci) where the surgeon controls instruments remotely. AI extends beyond robotics to include computer vision for anatomical structure identification, intraoperative adverse event prediction, and automated phase recognition. Current surgical robots are tools, not autonomous agents — the operating surgeon retains full clinical responsibility. Fully autonomous surgical tasks are under development but not yet cleared for unsupervised use.