Proposing Technology-Enhanced Wisdom
Pankaj Vyas, Sheila M. Gephart · Advances in Nursing Science · 2025
This paper proposes Technology-Enhanced Wisdom (TEW), a middle-range theory to guide nursing practice in the age of artificial intelligence. Building on Nelson's Data-to-Wisdom continuum and developed using Walker and Avant's theory synthesis method, TEW identifies 6 mediating concepts - context, perception, veracity, trust, usability, and competency - that shape how nurses integrate artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced insights. TEW provides a framework for synthesizing internal knowledge with machine-generated information to support ethically grounded, human-centered decisions. As AI transforms health care, TEW offers a timely theoretical foundation for wisdom-driven, technologically informed nursing care, positioning technology not as a replacement for human wisdom but as a co-pilot in advancing it.