Federal Officials Step Down From Health AI Group’s Board

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Two federal government officials have stepped down from the board of directors at the Coalition for Health AI, an industry group working to create standards for artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Micky Tripathi, the national coordinator for health information technology, and Troy Tazbaz, director of the digital health center of excellence at the Food at Drug Administration, resigned their posts as federal observers on the coalition’s board of directors, according to a LinkedIn post published last week by CHAI president and CEO Brian Anderson. 

CHAI, a private sector group of more than 2,500 nonprofit and for-profit healthcare and technology organizations, formed in 2021 to develop a set of guidelines for the safe and responsible use of AI in healthcare — a major concern for experts and policymakers who’ve raised questions about the risks of the technology without adequate oversight. In March, the organization named its board of directors, which included Tripathi and Tazbaz as non-voting federal liaisons.

Tripathi is now stepping down due to a potential conflict of interest between CHAI and his role as acting chief artificial intelligence officer and co-chair of the HHS’ AI task force.

“Not a reflection at all on CHAI, their mission, the strength of the collaboration they’re building, and work that they’re doing to advance responsible and trustworthy AI,” Tripathi said in an emailed statement through an Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology spokesperson.

An FDA spokesperson said Tazbaz is stepping down after the agency decided it no longer needed to participate in CHAI as a non-voting member, a spokesperson told Healthcare Dive.

“The FDA’s work with CHAI was based on the organization’s role in developing standards, best practices and quality management frameworks,” the spokesperson said via email. “The FDA continues to contribute to the development of best practices and standards.”

The resignations come shortly after CHAI received pushback from Republican lawmakers concerned about the FDA’s participation in the group. The legislators sent a letter to the agency last month arguing the partnership could create conflicts of interest in the government, noting tech giants like Microsoft and Google as well as health systems who use AI also take part in the coalition.

Other groups have emerged with focuses on AI governance. Microsoft, which has a major presence in AI development, partnered with health systems this spring to create Trustworthy & Responsible AI Network, or TRAIN.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the group TRAIN’s mission. The group aims to put responsible AI guidelines into practice.