Transforming Public Health Practice With Generative Artificial Intelligence

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Artificial Intelligence
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Public health practice is evolving to address challenges revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• There is a growing need to manage investments for 21st-century health requirements.
• Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) present significant opportunities for public health transformation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the current applications of AI in public health.
• To describe the capabilities of generative AI models for creating synthetic content.
• To examine AI's potential to support core public health functions within U.S. health departments.

Main Methods:

• Commentary and review of AI applications in public health.
• Analysis of generative AI capabilities (images, video, audio, text).
• Examination of AI's role in improving communication, organizational performance, and decision-making.

Main Results:

• AI offers near-term opportunities to enhance public health communication strategies.
• AI can optimize organizational performance within health departments.
• AI enables the generation of novel insights for data-driven public health decision-making.
• Generative AI models can produce diverse synthetic digital content.

Conclusions:

• AI presents a transformative potential for public health practice.
• Health departments can leverage AI to address current deficiencies and meet future health needs.
• Careful consideration of challenges and risks is essential for successful AI implementation in public health.