The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday released strategies and guidance on the use of artificial intelligence to help guide the agency’s own efforts and provide resources to public health officials across the country. These documents demonstrate a desire to accelerate technology adoption, ensure employees have access to technology, and ensure tools are properly managed. But what is more unique is that these publications encourage the use of AI “agents” or “deep research” that can perform specific tasks autonomously, something the CDC is already working on. According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ recently reported inventory of AI use cases, nearly 10% of the CDC’s approximately 100 AI use cases in 2025 were agent tools. The share of agent use accounts for approximately one-third of such deployments across the sector. As a result, CDC’s new strategy includes specific language to leverage its technology to support public health, enhance research and data management, and improve access to data. And at the same time, the agency released specific guidance for state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public health officials on the use of AI agents in research based on experience gained from its own research.
The White House has created a task force aimed at combating fraud in federally run programs, a goal that will be pursued primarily through strengthening data-sharing processes. The executive order, signed by President Donald Trump on Monday, is framed through the lens of various fraud cases in Minnesota involving Medicaid, the USDA Child Nutrition Program and Small Business Administration loan programs during the coronavirus pandemic. An investigation into the alleged fraud began under the Biden administration’s Justice Department, but the scandal was later exploited by President Trump’s White House to freeze funds and strip benefits from Gopher State residents. Under President Trump’s new order, the task force will be tasked with developing a national strategy to combat fraud in the federal benefits system. The EO specifically calls for new measures to improve eligibility verification processes and establish controls to prevent improper payments. According to the order, the task force will also be required to “facilitate information and data sharing and coordination among state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and the federal government, benefit providers, and law enforcement agencies.” Additionally, interagency data sharing will be prioritized as part of a comprehensive enforcement drive aimed at disrupting and dismantling “fraud networks and facilitators,” the EO said.
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