AI and Public Health Issues Spark Debate and Concern

Recent developments involving artificial intelligence and public health have ignited debate and raised concerns across various sectors. These include the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) use of AI to draft safety rules, the appointment of an individual with controversial views on vaccines to a key health advisory role, and the increasing use of chatbots to verify user age.

The DOT's decision to employ AI in drafting safety regulations for airplanes, cars, and pipelines has sparked worries about potential flaws and inaccuracies. According to a ProPublica investigation, staffers fear that AI errors could lead to flawed laws, resulting in lawsuits, injuries, or even deaths within the transportation system. The AI's tendency to "confidently get things wrong and hallucinate fabricated information" is a primary concern. However, Gregory Zerzan, the DOT's top lawyer, expressed no such worries in December meeting notes, according to ProPublica.

In the realm of public health, the appointment of Kirk Milhoan as chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has drawn criticism. Milhoan's views on vaccines, expressed in a podcast called "Why Should I Trust You," prompted a "scathing statement" from the American Medical Association, according to Ars Technica.

Meanwhile, tech companies are increasingly turning to chatbots to verify the ages of their users, driven by growing concerns about the dangers children face when interacting with AI. This issue has become a "new battleground" in the U.S., with the Republican Party supporting laws requiring sites with adult content to verify user ages, according to MIT Technology Review.

On a different note, the humanoid robot "Sprout" has entered the market, designed to assist customers in hotels, shops, and restaurants. Developed by Fauna, Sprout is intended to be "lightweight, engaging, and safe to be around," according to Robert Cochran, cofounder and CEO of Fauna. Sprout is available for purchase starting at $50,000.

OpenAI is also making a push into the scientific community with its "OpenAI for Science" team. This team is dedicated to exploring how large language models can aid scientists and is tweaking its tools to better support them. Mathematicians, physicists, and biologists have reported that LLMs, particularly GPT-5, have helped them make discoveries and find solutions they might have otherwise missed.