Trump Administration Moves to Integrate A.I. Into Medical Care Despite Concerns
The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to make artificial intelligence an integral part of medical care in the United States, throwing the resources and support of the federal government into projects that deploy A.I.agents to diagnose and prescribe treatments to patients.The multifront effort at the Department of Health and Human Services has raised concerns among some officials over the past few months that change is moving too quickly, with inadequate evidence of the technology’s safety and effectiveness, according to people who have been involved the discussions.
They also worry about outsized influence of Silicon Valley investors that have previously played little role in federal health policy.Vinod Khosla, a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose son has a health care A.I.company, has been particularly influential in conversations with top health department officials, according to people close to the matter.
Those officials include Dr.Mehmet Oz, the head of Medicare and Medicaid.
Chris Klomp, who faces a confirmation hearing this week to be the second-in-command at the health department, said on a podcast in May that the use of A.I.in patient care was the “holy grail” in the agency’s quest to improve the nation’s health and reduce costs.Mr.
Khosla has predicted for more than a decade that A.I.would largely replace doctors.
“It’s over for doctors, human doctors,” he said at a July A.I.start-up event.
“A.I.is just going to be better.”In an interview, Mr.
Khosla trumpeted Curai Health, his son’s company, which he has backed financially, saying it could offer an A.I.primary care provider that could give underserved people rapid access to care.
“C.M.S.seems to be very excited,” Mr.
Khosla said, referring to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.Concerns about the dangers of A.I., and calls to regulate it, have erupted in recent days as some top executives of A.I.labs have called for slowing the pac...