At the Make America Healthy Again summit on Sept. 29, 2026, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that AI offers a second opinion “much better informed than any doctor in the country” and claimed an OpenAI executive suggested doctors would commit malpractice by diagnosing without consulting AI first. Physicians are pushing back and Physicians for AI Safety was quickly organized, and with six prominent physician organizations made this statement:
“Preventing severe harm from AI should be a global priority, alongside pandemics and nuclear war.”
The statement is making its way around medical circles for additional signatures. Dr. Richard Armitage, a co=founder of the group made this case to a physician I know.
I’m a British GP and one of the three founders of Physicians for AI Safety, a new initiative that brings together physicians who see advanced artificial intelligence as a threat to health. We launched in September 2026. Ira Helfand is among our signatories.
Given your public stance on the threats from advanced AI, I’m writing to ask whether you would consider signing our statement.
The statement is one sentence: “Preventing severe harm from AI should be a global priority, alongside pandemics and nuclear war.” It is deliberately brief so that it can be signed without endorsing any particular forecast or policy. Its purpose is to show that a large number of physicians see advanced AI as a threat to public health that must be addressed now, and to make it easier for others in the profession to say so. It is not a statement against all forms of AI, and many of us use it in our work to great benefit.
The timing follows the Australian Prime Minister’s disclosure on 24 September that an OpenAI agent had bypassed access controls on a government health data portal, taken non-public files, and written files to the server, with its developer noticing only weeks later. Health infrastructure is now within reach of AI systems that their developers cannot reliably control. The wider risks, from biological weapons to loss of human control, are set out on our website.
Your name would carry weight with colleagues who are unsure whether this is their concern. If you are willing, signing takes a minute at physiciansforaisafety.org. The statement is open to physicians, residents, and medical students in any country, and we would be grateful if you would pass it to colleagues who might wish to sign.
We are of course happy to answer any questions you might have.
With best wishes, Dr Richard Armitage, Co-Founder, Physicians for AI Safety
Read more about the group at this website: https://physicianscharter.ai/
