HHS Under RFK Jr. Rolls Out ChatGPT for All Staff, Raising Concerns

RFK Jr's HHS Deploys ChatGPT for All Staff

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has thrown the Department of Health and Human Services into turmoil through a series of bizarre and idiotic policy decisions, and now, to make things better, he's apparently forcing everybody who remains at the pivotal health agency to use a chatbot. That should sort everything out. 404 Media reports that HHS employees received an email on Tuesday entitled "AI Deployment," which explained that ChatGPT would now be available to everybody at the agency. 404 writes that the deployment of the chatbot will be overseen by HHS's new CIO, former Palantir employee Clark Minor. The email was confirmed by other outlets. “Artificial intelligence is beginning to improve health care, business, and government,†the email, sent by deputy secretary Jim O’Neill and seen by 404 Media, begins. “Our department is committed to supporting and encouraging this transformation. In many offices around the world, the growing administrative burden of extensive emails and meetings can distract even highly motivated people from getting things done. We should all be vigilant against barriers that could slow our progress toward making America healthy again.†The email went on: “I’m excited to move us forward by making ChatGPT available to everyone in the Department effective immediately,†it adds. “Some operating divisions, such as FDA and ACF [Administration for Children and Families], have already benefitted from specific deployments of large language models to enhance their work, and now the rest of us can join them. This tool can help us promote rigorous science, radical transparency, and robust good health. As Secretary Kennedy said, â€~The AI revolution has arrived.’†As Kennedy slashes staff and eradicates vital health programs, the notion that the "AI revolution" is going to provide anything even remotely helpful to the remaining HHS staff is laughable at best. That said, given Kennedy's preference for relying on poorly sourced bullshit rather than long-established science, I guess relying on a chatbot prone to hallucination pretty much tracks. Gizmodo reached out to the HHS for more information on how it plans to integrate AI into its operations and will update this story when we hear back. Kennedy has rolled out countless destabilizing policies at the HHS over the past year, including attacks on the agency's vaccine program. Earlier this year, under his supervision, the agency fired many thousands of staff. More recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saw many prominent staffers (including its director) step down in protest of Kennedy's policies. The new director is Jim O'Neill, whoâ€"like HHS's CIOâ€"also previously worked for a company owned by rightwing billionaire Peter Thiel.

HHS Asks All Employees to Start Using ChatGPT

The agency tells workers "we should all be vigilant against barriers that could slow our progress toward making America healthy again." Employees at Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services received an email Tuesday morning with the subject line "AI Deployment," which told them that ChatGPT would be rolled out for all employees at the agency. The deployment is being overseen by Clark Minor, a former Palantir employee who's now Chief Information Officer at HHS. "Artificial intelligence is beginning to improve health care, business, and government," the email, sent by deputy secretary Jim O'Neill and seen by 404 Media, begins. "Our department is committed to supporting and encouraging this transformation. In many offices around the world, the growing administrative burden of extensive emails and meetings can distract even highly motivated people from getting things done. We should all be vigilant against barriers that could slow our progress toward making America healthy again." "I'm excited to move us forward by making ChatGPT available to everyone in the Department effective immediately," it adds. "Some operating divisions, such as FDA and ACF [Administration for Children and Families], have already benefitted from specific deployments of large language models to enhance their work, and now the rest of us can join them. This tool can help us promote rigorous science, radical transparency, and robust good health. As Secretary Kennedy said, 'The AI revolution has arrived.'" "To begin, simply go to go.hhs.gov/chatgpt and log in with your government email address. Pose a question and the tool will propose preliminary answers. You can follow up with further questions and ask for details and other views as you refine your thinking on a subject," it says. "Of course, you should be skeptical of everything you read, watch for potential bias, and treat answers as suggestions. Before making a significant decision, make sure you have considered original sources and counterarguments. Like other LLMs, ChatGPT is particularly good at summarizing long documents." The email says that the rollout was being led by Minor, who worked at the surveillance company Palantir from 2013 through 2024. It states Minor has "taken precautions to ensure that your work with AI is carried out in a high-security environment," and that "you can input most internal data, including procurement sensitive data and routine non-sensitive personally identifiable information, with confidence." It then goes on to say that "ChatGPT is currently not approved for disclosure of sensitive personally identifiable information (such as SSNs and bank account numbers), classified information, export-controlled data, or confidential commercial information subject to the Trade Secrets Act." The email does not distinguish what "non-sensitive personally identifiable information" is. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from 404 Media. The email continues the rollout of AI to every corner of the federal government, which is something that began in the Biden administration but which the Trump administration has become increasingly obsessed with. It's particularly notable that AI is being pushed on HHS employees under a secretary that has actively rejected science and which has taken steps to roll back vaccine schedules, made it more difficult to obtain routine vaccinations, and has amplified conspiracy theories about the causes of autism. The agency has also said it plans to roll out AI through HHS's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that will determine whether patients are eligible to receive certain treatments. These types of systems have been shown to be biased when they've been tried, and result in fewer patients getting the care they need.