AI as a transformative health tool: Potential and peril

Public health, explained: Sign up to receive Dr. Jay K. Varma’s reports in your inbox a day early. Hello and welcome to Healthbeat’s weekly report on stories shaping public health in the United States. I am Dr. Jay K. Varma, a physician, epidemiologist, and public health expert currently serving as chief medical officer at Fedcap, a national nonprofit focused on economic mobility and well-being for vulnerable communities. Views expressed here are my own. This week, I’m focusing on a question that sounds like science fiction but is increasingly being asked in serious policy circles: Will artificial intelligence kill us all? AI can help health agencies avert illness and death Let’s start with my bias. I believe that AI is a transformative tool that can help public health agencies avert illness and death in their communities if used responsibly and ethically. It can help epidemiologists process, analyze, and interpret surveillance data. It can assist health officials in tailoring communic