As we wrap up 2025 and gear up for a new cycle of healthcare AI ambitions, we couldn’t resist revisiting one of our favorite moments from THMA’s fall forum circuit this year: our satirical “future leaders” AI sketches.
These clips lean all the way into absurdity, but they also surface a very real truth about where health system executives might be headed as AI matures. They’re irreverent, a little unhinged, and – if we’re being honest – probably closer to reality than any of us would like to admit.
CIOs in 2027: “I miss the days of just having to manage humans.”
By 2027, the CIO has become the Chief AI Resources Officer: part therapist, part referee, part data-center whisperer. The good news? The network never crashes. The bad news? It now has existential crises instead.
CMIOs in 2027: “I used to manage medical information; now I babysit algorithms.”
Our future CMIO is running an AI-powered daycare where every model has 97% confidence and zero emotional maturity. It’s chaotic and somehow, they’re still the ones blamed when something goes wrong.
CLOs in 2027: “My job is to convince humans they’re still worth teaching.”
The Chief Learning Officer is juggling who taught an AI to say, “slay queen,” training modules that last 73 hours, and VR grand rounds attended by three brave souls. But hey – even the bots are sending thank-you notes now. Progress!
Cardiovascular Service Line Leaders in 2027: “Her iPhone diagnosed cardiomyopathy from a selfie.”
CV leaders are working side-by-side with Dr. Ventricle – an overachieving, multilingual surgical bot that performs flawlessly and then humble-brags on LinkedIn. We end up with zero surgical errors and a scary number of tough conversations with patients left for the human surgeon to handle…some things never change.
Lab Directors in 2030: “Your analysis AI says this sample ‘sparks joy.’ That’s still not a parameter.”
The 2030 lab is a wild place: the centrifuge has a hit podcast, the autoclave is publishing research, and “bad vibes” is now a rejection code. But the work is faster, safer, and (mostly) less terrifying.
The future is bright (and slightly alarming)
If fall forums taught us anything, it’s that health system leaders are approaching 2026 with realism, optimism, and a willingness to laugh at the ridiculousness of our AI-accelerated moment. These videos, and the moments in the room that accompanied them, captured that perfectly.
Here’s to a 2026 full of smart bets, good governance, and bold experimentation…and far fewer AI models undergoing existential crises during business hours.