U.S. Health Department Unveils Ambitious AI Adoption Strategy
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) characterized its new initiative as a foundational leap aimed primarily at enhancing operational efficiency and harmonizing AI integration across its various divisions.
ALI SWENSON
December 5, 2025, 1:58 pm
4 min read
NEW YORK (AP) — On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a groundbreaking strategy aimed at amplifying its implementation of artificial intelligence.
This initiative builds upon the previous administration’s enthusiastic endorsement of the rapidly evolving technology, all while raising critical questions regarding the safeguarding of health data.
The HHS described the strategy as a “first step,” heavily emphasizing enhanced efficiency and coordinated AI adoption across its branches. Furthermore, the exhaustive 20-page document hinted at ambitious plans to foster AI innovation, particularly in patient health data analysis and drug development.
“For too long, our Department has been bogged down by bureaucracy and busy-work,” articulated Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill in the strategy’s introduction. “It is time to dismantle these impediments to progress and unite in our effort to Make America Healthy Again.”
The strategy illustrates how leaders from the previous administration have embraced AI innovation, urging federal employees to incorporate chatbots and AI assistants into their daily functions.
As generative AI technology evolved significantly during President Joe Biden’s tenure, he enacted an executive order aimed at establishing safeguards for its use.
However, upon taking office, President Donald Trump rescinded that order, and his administration has sought to eliminate obstacles to AI deployment within the federal sphere.
Experts have voiced that the administration’s commitment to modernizing governmental operations presents both extensive opportunities and inherent risks.
Many contend that innovation in AI within HHS necessitates stringent standards, particularly given the handling of sensitive data, and question whether these would be upheld under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership.
Moreover, individuals within Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative have expressed apprehension regarding tech companies’ access to personal information.
Strategy Promotes Widespread AI Utilization
The newly unveiled plan advocates for a culture of “try-first” within HHS, aiming to bolster productivity and capabilities through AI adoption. Earlier this year, the department made the well-received AI model ChatGPT accessible to all employees.
The strategy delineates five key pillars for its AI approach going forward. These pillars comprise: establishing a governance framework to manage risk, designing a suite of AI resources for departmental use, empowering staff to leverage AI tools, allocating funding for standard-setting in research and development, and integrating AI into public health initiatives and patient care.
The document asserts that HHS divisions are already engaged in initiatives to harness AI “to provide personalized, context-aware health guidance to patients by securely accessing and interpreting their medical records in real-time.”
Nevertheless, some within Kennedy’s movement have expressed unease about employing AI tools to scrutinize health data, contending they are uncomfortable with the health department’s collaboration with large technology firms to obtain access to personal information.
Previously, HHS encountered backlash for potentially overstepping legal boundaries when it transferred personal health data of Medicaid recipients to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Concerns Regarding Data Protection Persist
Oren Etzioni, a prominent expert in artificial intelligence who founded a nonprofit to combat political deepfakes, acknowledged that HHS’s ardor for AI in healthcare merits commendation. However, he cautioned that expedience should not undermine safety.
“The HHS strategy outlines ambitious objectives—centralized data infrastructure, swift deployment of AI tools, and an AI-empowered workforce,” he stated.
“Yet, ambition carries risks, especially when dealing with the most sensitive data our nation holds: health information.”
Etzioni observed that the strategy’s articulation of “gold standard science,” risk evaluations, and transparency in AI development appear to be encouraging signs.
Nonetheless, he expressed skepticism about HHS’s capacity to achieve these standards under Kennedy’s leadership, citing a history of disregarding rigor and scientific integrity.
Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation, noted that the document promises to bolster risk management, yet lacks comprehensive details on its implementation.
“Numerous questions remain about the handling of sensitive medical information and the modalities of data sharing,” he remarked. While there are robust protections for individual records, the safeguards for aggregated information analyzed by AI tools are less clearly defined.
Understanding how officials intend to reconcile the use of medical data to improve operations with privacy protections is crucial.
Nonetheless, West concluded that if managed judiciously, “this could herald a transformative era for a modernized agency, significantly elevating its operational efficacy.”
The strategy indicates that HHS is pursuing 271 active or planned AI implementations in the 2024 fiscal year, a number it anticipates will swell by 70% in 2025.
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