Tiger BufordYour Orthopedic Industry Expert (free today)

AI in Orthopedics is not a thing.

16 Sept 2025 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:05

In this YouTube monologue, Tiger Buford argues that artificial intelligence (AI) should not be viewed as a standalone product or career path in orthopedics. He likens AI’s current emergence to the rollout of cellular connectivity and the early internet, noting that investors and innovators did not invest directly in the technology itself but in companies that used it to create transformative services (e.g., Verizon, Amazon, Netflix, Google). Buford advises surgeons, investors, sales professionals, and orthopedic companies to focus on the new products and services that are built with AI rather than chasing AI as a buzzword. He warns against orthopedic firms that merely market “AI” without delivering genuine AI‑driven tools, urging stakeholders to seek out genuine AI‑enabled innovations. The talk concludes with a concise take‑home message encouraging the audience to reframe their thinking about AI in orthopedics.

Chapters

So I talk with a ton of ortho people each week. It seems like everyone wants to talk about AI, but through these conversations I've found that many aren't even thinking about AI in the right context. They're thinking about it, uh, in a wrong context. So what I like to say is AI is not a thing. Let me say it again. AI is just not a thing. Let me give you an example, uh, or an analogy that we've all lived through. So today, uh, AI is more akin to like cellular connectivity that came about in around 2000, or the internet around 2000. When cellular connectivity emerged, people didn't invest in cellular connectivity. They weren't drawn to it. They invested in companies like Verizon because Verizon used new technology to create transformative new services. When the internet emerged, people didn't invest in the internet. They invested in Amazon for e-commerce or Netflix for streaming or Google for search or web ads. These companies created transformative new services. So as you look at orthopedics today, you can't invest in AI or you can't get a job in AI and you can't chase AI. It's just not a thing. So if you're an investor, you're a surgeon, sales professional, whatever, seek out the transformative new services that are based on AI, not AI. The take-home message is for those ortho companies that are leveraging AI to create new products and services. Don't get fooled by ortho companies that market AI but don't create these new tools. So anyway, that's it. Hope this helps you understand AI a bit.