JAMA Network Launches JAMA AI, a New Peer-Reviewed Journal for Clinical Artificial Intelligence Research

The JAMA Network has announced the launch of JAMA AI, a new peer-reviewed online journal devoted entirely to clinical research on artificial intelligence, digital health, and the emerging technologies now reshaping medicine and health care. The announcement, made from Chicago, positions the new publication as the 14th journal in the JAMA Network and marks one of the most consequential editorial commitments to date by a major medical publisher to the rapidly expanding field of health-focused AI. Submissions will open in early 2027, and the journal is expected to become a central venue for the evidence that will determine whether artificial intelligence can genuinely improve patient care rather than merely promise to do so.

JAMA AI will publish research spanning the full spectrum of AI in health care, from fundamental advances in AI capabilities to clinical applications, rigorous evaluation, and real-world implementation. The journal’s stated areas of focus include generative and agentic AI, clinical decision support, AI-enabled diagnostics and therapeutics, and digital health technologies, along with the methodological frameworks needed to evaluate their safety, effectiveness, and impact on patients, clinicians, and health systems. That breadth reflects a recognition that the scientific questions surrounding medical AI are no longer confined to computer science laboratories; they now sit at the heart of clinical medicine, health policy, and the daily practice of physicians worldwide.

The journal will be led by inaugural Editor in Chief Roy H. Perlis, MD, MSc, a prominent figure in computational psychiatry and clinical research methodology. Perlis currently serves as Director of the Center for Quantitative Health and holds the Ronald I. Dozoretz, MD, Endowed Chair at Massachusetts General Hospital, and is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. On February 1, 2027, he will begin a new appointment as Director of the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute and as the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. His dual grounding in clinical psychiatry and quantitative methods signals the journal’s intent to bridge technical innovation with bedside relevance.

“As a JAMA Network journal, JAMA AI will be firmly rooted in medicine,” Perlis said in the announcement. “We care about advances in health AI models, trials of new interventions, and real-world clinical implementation, as well as the policy and education that can shape the responsible use of AI in medicine worldwide. I am looking forward to publishing the science that will help clinicians and health systems understand where these technologies add value and best serve patients.” The statement underscores a guiding philosophy for the journal: that the measure of medical AI is not algorithmic performance in isolation but demonstrable value in clinical practice.

The urgency of that mission is difficult to overstate. As AI capabilities advance and adoption accelerates across medicine, the need for rigorous evidence to guide safe and effective use has become increasingly pressing. Evaluating these technologies presents scientific challenges that traditional clinical research methods were never designed to address. Performance and reliability must be assessed across diverse populations and clinical settings, and researchers must understand how these tools affect clinical decision making, care delivery, and patient outcomes. Models that excel in one hospital or demographic group may fail in another, and the speed of AI development often outpaces the slower cadence of clinical validation studies.

The launch of JAMA AI reflects the rapid growth of the field and the importance of distinguishing technological promise from demonstrated improvements in patient care. As a member of the JAMA Network, the new journal will join a portfolio of premier publications that inform clinical practice worldwide. It is expected to uphold the standards that define the Network’s journals, including scientific rigor, transparency, patient-focused investigation, and ethical conduct and reporting of research, while benefiting from the Network’s broad global reach and influence. For researchers developing AI tools, publication in the journal will signal that their work has met the same evidentiary bar as any other clinical science.

“The steps we take today to build new technologies and harness the full potential of AI will shape the health care landscape of tomorrow,” said John Whyte, MD, MPH, CEO of the American Medical Association, which publishes the JAMA Network. “But innovation alone does not build trust—evidence does. For generations, the JAMA Network has set the standard for scientific research, discovery, and thought leadership on which physicians rely. This new journal builds on that legacy, helping ensure AI delivers on its promise to make medicine more effective, more personalized, and more responsive to the needs of every patient.” His comments frame the journal as a trust-building instrument at a moment when public and professional confidence in AI tools remains fragile and uneven.

Perlis brings substantial editorial experience to the role. He is also the founding Editor in Chief of the JAMA+ AI channel, which highlights AI research and commentary from across the JAMA Network journals. Since its inception, the channel has expanded to include resources and training materials, a podcast, a bimonthly email newsletter, and a search portal that allows readers to explore AI-related JAMA Network content by journal and topic. The channel will continue to curate and amplify this content for readers, creating a complementary ecosystem in which original research published in JAMA AI can be contextualized, discussed, and disseminated to a broad clinical audience.

“The opportunities created by AI are extraordinary, but realizing their potential requires rigorous evaluation,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, Editor in Chief of JAMA and the JAMA Network. “The JAMA Network is an exceptional platform for authors and readers around the world to publish, discover, and debate the science that is shaping clinical practice. JAMA AI is a welcome addition to the JAMA Network, providing a trusted forum for research, education, and opinion that will help clinicians, health systems, and the public better understand how these technologies can improve care and, most importantly, improve the health of the patient.”

The arrival of a dedicated JAMA Network journal for AI arrives at a pivotal moment for the field. Generative models are being tested in documentation, diagnosis, and treatment planning; agentic systems are being explored for autonomous clinical workflows; and health systems are deploying AI-enabled tools faster than the evidence base can keep pace. By creating a peer-reviewed home for trials, validation studies, implementation research, and policy analysis, JAMA AI aims to supply the evidentiary foundation that clinicians, regulators, and patients will need to judge which technologies truly deliver. Whether the journal can keep up with the velocity of AI innovation while maintaining the JAMA Network’s exacting standards will itself be one of the defining scientific questions of the coming decade. Additional information, including an accompanying JAMA Editorial and podcast, is available at jama-ai.com.

Subject of Research: Launch of JAMA AI, a new peer-reviewed journal for clinical artificial intelligence and digital health research

Article Title: Announcing JAMA AI – a new journal from the JAMA Network

Article References: Announcing JAMA AI – a new journal from the JAMA Network. (n.d.). Original publication

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Keywords: JAMA AI, JAMA Network, artificial intelligence, digital health, clinical decision support, generative AI, agentic AI, peer review, medical publishing, health technology evaluation, Roy Perlis, clinical research