Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promotes artificial intelligence as alternative to medical experts at Washington summit

Fireside chat at the Waldorf Astoria

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. opened a fireside conversation on Tuesday with Vice President JD Vance at the Make America Healthy Again summit at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington. Kennedy and other administration officials did not organize the event, appearing instead as invited speakers before supporters and corporate backers. The gathering was sponsored by commercial entities with business before Kennedy's department, alongside artificial intelligence firms including Anthropic and OpenAI. While the summit program featured panel discussions on nutrition, chronic disease prevention, and psychedelic treatments, Kennedy directed his opening remarks toward artificial intelligence. The focus surprised Vance, who noted that he had anticipated a different set of discussion topics during their joint stage appearance.

I guess I'm in the wrong summit. I thought this was about weight loss and acid, not A.I.

Opposition to expert authority

Kennedy presented artificial intelligence as a mechanism to dismantle the authority of established public health officials, describing the technology as a cure for medical tyranny. He argued that the Trump administration is facilitating widespread public access to artificial intelligence, allowing individuals to seek secondary medical assessments. According to Kennedy, software systems are currently better informed than any licensed physician in the United States. He also invoked the term super intelligence, language favored by President Donald Trump, asserting that computational models will resolve otherwise existential healthcare challenges.

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.

Claims on vaccines and pandemic guidance

Kennedy detailed specific areas where he asserted artificial intelligence models would challenge established scientific consensus and validate his contrarian positions. He told the audience that automated tools would overturn conventional guidance on mask mandates, physical distancing measures, and immunization protocols. To reinforce his argument, Kennedy recounted a recent meeting in his office with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. Kennedy reported that Altman stated it would constitute medical malpractice for a physician to diagnose a patient or write a prescription without first consulting artificial intelligence.

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

Model responses and administration presence

Inquiries submitted to leading commercial artificial intelligence platforms did not align with Kennedy's predictions regarding medical guidance. When queried about whether masks prevent the spread of infectious illnesses, Google's Gemini chatbot stated that masks operate as physical barriers to reduce outgoing and incoming respiratory particles. A query to ChatGPT produced an equivalent response, confirming that masks diminish the transmission of respiratory infections carried through aerosols and droplets.

The conference drew an extensive roster of senior government officials alongside Kennedy and Vance. Invited participants included Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Mehmet Oz, the head of Medicare and Medicaid. The high-level attendance coincided with ongoing debates surrounding federal oversight of emerging technologies, as Kennedy's agency encounters scrutiny for accelerating grant funding toward healthcare artificial intelligence projects.