Kennedy pitches AI as medical liberation

At a Make America Healthy Again event Tuesday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy told Vice President JD Vance that artificial intelligence would free Americans from the tyranny of doctors and health experts.

“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 claims AI backs his views

Kennedy suggested AI would contradict expert consensus on masks, social distancing and vaccines. He said AI is better informed than any doctor and would confirm his contrarian positions on public health.

“If somebody tells you masks work, trust the experts, AI may tell you otherwise.”

Testing Kennedy's mask claim

We asked Google's Gemini whether masks work to prevent infectious disease spread. It responded: Yes, masks work to reduce the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, operating primarily as physical barriers to outgoing and incoming infectious particles.

“Yes, masks work to reduce the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, operating primarily as physical barriers to outgoing and incoming infectious particles.”

ChatGPT agrees on masks

ChatGPT offered a similar answer to the same question, responding that masks can reduce the spread of some infectious diseases, particularly respiratory infections transmitted through droplets and aerosols.

“Yes. Masks can reduce the spread of some infectious diseases, particularly respiratory infections transmitted through droplets and aerosols.”

AI backs vaccines too

When asked whether vaccines can prevent transmission and infection, ChatGPT said yes, vaccines can prevent both, though protection varies by vaccine and disease. Gemini gave nearly identical results.

“Yes. Vaccines can prevent both infection and transmission, but the degree of protection varies by vaccine and disease.”

MAHA event sponsored by tech firms

The Waldorf Astoria event in Washington, DC was sponsored in part by AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic. Sponsorship packages sold for up to three hundred thousand dollars, including guaranteed speaker slots and private dinners with Kennedy.

MAHA allies cry betrayal

Robert Malone, a fringe scientist and previous Kennedy ally, blasted the event in a newsletter, saying the incestuous nature of MAHA and its conflicts of interest were becoming harder to ignore.

“MAHA was supposed to expose the revolving door between money, industry and government, not build its own.”