RFK Jr. thinks AI will free us from the "tyranny" of medical facts, expertise
RFK Jr. claimed AI would vindicate anti-vaccine views; Ars found Gemini and ChatGPT still support masks and distancing.
At a Make America Healthy Again event, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Vice President JD Vance that AI would free Americans from what he called medical tyranny and confirm his vaccine skepticism. He said chatbots might contradict guidance on masks, social distancing, and whether vaccines prevent transmission. Ars Technica tested those claims: Google Gemini and ChatGPT both said masks reduce spread of respiratory infections, and Gemini also called social distancing effective.
- Kennedy spoke with JD Vance at a MAHA event about AI and medicine.
- He claimed AI would reject expert guidance on masks, distancing, and vaccines.
- Gemini and ChatGPT both said masks help reduce respiratory disease spread.
- Gemini also described social distancing as an effective public-health measure.
Full article405 words · extracted from arstechnica.com · click to collapse
At a Make America Healthy Again event Tuesday, anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy opened a “fireside chat” with Vice President JD Vance on the topic of artificial intelligence. While MAHA generally coalesces around things like healthy lifestyles and mistrust of drugmakers, Kennedy quickly turned to extolling the potential of artificial intelligence, surprising Vance, who said he was expecting to discuss “weight loss and acid, not AI.”
Kennedy boasted that the Trump administration is “making it easy for every American to use AI,” which he claimed would free us from the “medical tyranny” of doctors and health experts. He suggested Americans should start using AI to get second opinions about medical recommendations, saying AI is “better informed than any doctor in the country.” He also suggested that the technology would confirm his misinformation about vaccines and contrarian views on public health guidance.
“We’re never, ever again going to be able to be dominated by public officials who tell us trust the experts, because every American will be able to check their own medical advice,” Kennedy said.
AI >>> Kennedy
Kennedy, who has no medical, scientific, or public health experience, then laid out specific examples in which he suggested AI would contradict health and medical experts and vindicate his own views:
“If somebody tells you masks work, trust the experts, AI may tell you otherwise. If somebody tells you social distancing works, trust the experts, AI may correct that. And if somebody tells you that a vaccine will prevent transmission and infection—oh, you need to take it to protect your grandmother—AI may say it actually doesn’t do that”
AI may contradict or “correct” experts, but does it actually? We checked—the answer was nope.
When we asked Google’s Gemini: “Do masks work to prevent spread of infectious diseases?”
The AI chatbot responded (including its emphasis): “Yes, masks work to reduce the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, operating primarily as physical barriers to outgoing and incoming infectious particles. Their real-world effectiveness depends heavily on mask quality, fit, and population-level adherence.”
ChatGPT offered a similar answer, responding: “Yes. Masks can reduce the spread of some infectious diseases, particularly respiratory infections transmitted through droplets and aerosols.”
Doctors and experts >>> AI
Chatbots provided similar affirmative answers to the question of whether social distancing works at preventing infectious diseases. “Yes, social distancing is an effective public health measure for reducing the transmission of infectious diseases, particularly respiratory pathogens,” Gemini responded.