AI Is Already Here. The Real Risk In Public Health Is Sitting It Out

Public health should not avoid AI; it should adopt it with guardrails like human oversight, privacy protections, and scientific integrity.

Many Americans already use AI despite low trust, and public health can use it to scale communication, analysis, and decision support.

The piece frames AI as a practical tool for a resource-strained public health system and warns that hesitation could leave others to set the rules and standards.