Biden Administration Unveils ‘AI Strategic Plan’ for the Department of Health and Human Services

In its final days in office, the Biden administration unveiled a new artificial intelligence strategic plan for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This comprehensive framework emphasizes HHS’s commitment to the responsible and equitable deployment of AI technologies.

The nearly 200-page document features an extensive chapter that focuses on the current and anticipated trends in cybersecurity risks. It examines the dual role that AI plays in both exacerbating cybersecurity threats and offering potential solutions across healthcare, public health, and human services sectors.

Central to HHS’s strategy is the aim of fostering a collaborative public-private partnership to enhance quality, safety, efficiency, and accessibility within health services through innovative AI applications. The strategic plan delineates four pivotal goals to drive this initiative: promoting health AI innovation, ensuring ethical AI deployment, democratizing access to AI technologies, and cultivating a workforce skilled in the effective use of AI.

Addressing cybersecurity specifically, HHS recently published a concept paper aimed at bolstering the healthcare sector’s security posture. The new AI strategic plan builds on this initiative, acknowledging that cybersecurity incidents can disrupt patient care and healthcare operations. It warns that the advent of AI has broadened the threat landscape as such technologies may be exploited by cybercriminals, yet they also serve as tools for enhancing security measures.

In a concurrent development, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—part of HHS—released additional guidelines addressing the cybersecurity concerns surrounding AI-enabled medical devices. These guidelines outline various considerations throughout the product life cycle, including security implications related to machine learning and deep learning technologies.

The recent flurry of policy announcements from HHS and the FDA reflects the administration’s urgency in addressing cybersecurity and AI-related concerns as it prepares to transition control. Various proposals have emerged, including strengthened HIPAA security rule requirements that underscore the importance of protecting sensitive patient information.

As the Biden administration’s proposals take shape, the incoming administration will face the challenge of determining which regulations will endure and how they might adapt to ongoing cybersecurity threats—particularly those posed by nation-state actors seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in healthcare systems.