By Kate Ruder, KFF Health News

When Judith Miller had routine blood work done in July, she got a phone alert the same day that her lab results were posted online. So, when her doctor messaged her the next day that her overall tests were fine, Miller wrote back to ask about the elevated carbon dioxide and low anion gap listed in the report.

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While the 76-year-old Milwaukee resident waited to hear back, Miller did something patients increasingly do when they can’t reach their health care team. She put her test results into Claude and asked the AI assistant to evaluate the data.

“Claude helped give me a clear understanding of the abnormalities,” Miller said. The generative AI model didn’t report anything alarming, so she wasn’t anxious while waiting to hear back from her doctor, she said.

Patients have unprecedented access to their medical records, often through online patient portals such as MyChart, because federal law requires health organizations to immediately release electronic health information, such as notes on doctor visits and test results. A study published in 2023 found that 96% of patients surveyed want immediate access to their records, even if their provider hasn’t reviewed them.

And many patients are using large language models, or LLMs, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini, to interpret their records. That help comes with some risk, though. Physicians and patient advocates warn that AI chatbots can produce wrong answers and that sensitive medical information might not remain private.

Yet, most adults are cautious about AI and health. Fifty-six percent of those who use or interact with AI are not confident that information provided by AI chatbots is accurate, according to a 2024 KFF poll. KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

“LLMs are theoretically very powerful and they can give great advice, but they can also give truly terrible advice depending on how they’re prompted,” said Adam Rodman, an internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts and the chair of a steering group on generative AI at Harvard Medical School.

Justin Honce, a neuroradiologist at UCHealth in Colorado, said it can be very difficult for patients who are not medically trained to know whether AI chatbots make mistakes.

“Ultimately, it’s just the need for caution overall with LLMs. With the latest models, these concerns are continuing to get less and less of an issue but have not been entirely resolved,” Honce said.

Rodman has seen a surge in AI use among his patients in the past six months. In one case, a patient took a screenshot of his hospital lab results on MyChart then uploaded them to ChatGPT to prepare questions ahead of his appointment. Rodman said he welcomes patients’ showing him how they use AI, and that their research creates an opportunity for discussion.

Roughly 1 in 7 adults over 50 use AI to receive health information, according to a recent poll from the University of Michigan, while 1 in 4 adults under age 30 do so, according to the KFF poll.

Using the internet to advocate for better care for oneself isn’t new. Patients have traditionally used websites such as WebMD, PubMed, or Google to search for the latest research and have sought advice from other patients on social media platforms like Facebook or Reddit. But AI chatbots’ ability to generate personalized recommendations or second opinions in seconds is novel.

Liz Salmi, communications and patient initiatives director at OpenNotes, an academic lab at Beth Israel Deaconess that advocates for transparency in health care, had wondered how good AI is at interpretation, specifically for patients.

In a proof-of-concept study published this year, Salmi and colleagues analyzed the accuracy of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini responses to patients’ questions about a clinical note. All three AI models performed well, but how patients framed their questions mattered, Salmi said. For example, telling the AI chatbot to take on the persona of a clinician and asking it one question at a time improved the accuracy of its responses.

Privacy is a concern, Salmi said, so it’s critical to remove personal information like your name or Social Security number from prompts. Data goes directly to tech companies that have developed AI models, Rodman said, adding that he is not aware of any that comply with federal privacy law or consider patient safety. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, warned on a podcast last month about putting personal information into ChatGPT.

“Many people who are new to using large language models might not know about hallucinations,” Salmi said, referring to a response that may appear sensible but is inaccurate. For example, OpenAI’s Whisper, an AI-assisted transcription tool used in hospitals, introduced an imaginary medical treatment into a transcript, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Using generative AI demands a new type of digital health literacy that includes asking questions in a particular way, verifying responses with other AI models, talking to your health care team, and protecting your privacy online, said Salmi and Dave deBronkart, a cancer survivor and patient advocate who writes a blog devoted to patients’ use of AI.

Patients aren’t the only ones using AI to explain test results. Stanford Health Care has launched an AI assistant that helps its physicians draft interpretations of clinical tests and lab results to send to patients. Colorado researchers studied the accuracy of ChatGPT-generated summaries of 30 radiology reports, along with four patients’ satisfaction with them. Of the 118 valid responses from patients, 108 indicated the ChatGPT summaries clarified details about the original report.

But ChatGPT sometimes overemphasized or underemphasized findings, and a small but significant number of responses indicated patients were more confused after reading the summaries, said Honce, who participated in the preprint study.

Meanwhile, after four weeks and a couple of follow-up messages from Miller in MyChart, Miller’s doctor ordered a repeat of her blood work and an additional test that Miller suggested. The results came back normal. Miller was relieved and said she was better informed because of her AI inquiries.

“It’s a very important tool in that regard,” Miller said. “It helps me organize my questions and do my research and level the playing field.”

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

President Donald Trump said prominent billionaires – including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech founder Michael Dell – could be part of a deal in which the U.S. will take control of the social video platform TikTok.

Trump namedropped the 94-year-old Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the head of Fox News and News Corp, as part of a group of possible participants in a deal during an interview recorded Friday and aired Sunday on Fox News.

“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

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Trump’s disclosure of the potential involvement of the Murdochs and Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, is the latest twist in a fast-moving potential deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S.

Trump also said Sunday that tech giant Oracle founder and Chairman Larry Ellison was part of the same group. His involvement had been previously disclosed. On Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security and that Americans will control six of the seven seats for a planned board.

Much is still unknown about the actual deal in the works. Trump discussed the TikTok deal with China’s Xi Jinping in a lengthy phone call on Friday. Chinese and U.S. officials have until Dec. 16 to hash out the details, following the latest deadline extension by the Trump administration.

TikTok is a hugely popular app currently owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. American officials have warned the algorithm TikTok uses to shape what users see is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.

Congress passed legislation calling for a TikTok ban to go into effect in January, but Trump has repeatedly signed orders that have allowed TikTok to keep operating in the United States as his administration tries to reach an agreement for the social media company’s parent company to sell its U.S. operations.

On Sunday, Trump said that he was “a little prejudiced” about TikTok because he credited the app for helping him connect with young voters. Trump said slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk encouraged the president to use the app.

Representatives for Ellison, Dell and the Murdochs could not immediately be reached for comment.

Trump filed a lawsuit against Murdoch and one of his newspapers, The Wall Street Journal, in July after it published a story reporting on the president’s ties to wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

By DAVID FISCHER, Associated Press

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Routh texted his three adult children and his fiancee separately to tell them he loved them, according to cellphone records, shortly before authorities say he was spotted by a U.S. Secret Service agent, who identified Routh as the man who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course.

Later that same day, Routh called his fiancee from the Palm Beach County jail to tell her about his arrest, but she already knew. “Everybody knows, it’s been hours,” the woman can be heard saying on a recording of the call. “The whole world knows.”

This courtroom sketch shows Secret Service agent Robert Fercano holding up the weapon found in the bushes during opening statements in the trial of Ryan Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Lothar Speer via AP)

Routh is representing himself in federal court after being charged with trying kill Trump and is set to present his defense Monday, calling just three witnesses.

Seasoned prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida rested their case Friday afternoon after spending seven days questioning 38 witnesses in an attempt to make sure Routh spends the rest of his life in prison.

Prosecutors have said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.

Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

He told U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday that he only needs half a day or so to present his defense. He has indicated that he plans to call a firearms expert and two character witnesses. He hasn’t said whether he plans to testify himself.

Cannon signed off on Routh’s request to represent himself following two hearings in July. Routh told the judge that his court-appointed federal public defenders were diligent, but they didn’t listen to him and were afraid of him.

“How are they supposed to represent me and say I’m not a dangerous person when they don’t believe that?” Routh said in July.

This courtroom sketch shows lead government prosecutor John Shipley speaking during the opening statements of the during the trial of Ryan Routh, who is charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at a golf course in South Florida, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Fort Pierce, Fla. (Lothar Speer via AP)

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney. Routh’s former defense attorneys have served as standby counsel since Routh took over his own defense and have been present during trial the past two weeks.

Cannon said attorneys should be prepared to deliver their closing arguments Tuesday, giving each side one hour and 45 minutes. Jurors will begin deliberating after that. Cannon had initially blocked off more than three weeks for the trial at the Fort Pierce federal courthouse, but Routh’s relatively short cross-examinations have led to a quicker pace than anticipated.

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Recounting the alleged attack at the golf course, a Secret Service agent testified last week that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot, the agent said.

Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who testified that he saw a person fleeing the area after hearing gunshots. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witness said he confirmed it was the person he had seen.

Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived an attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear. The gunman was then fatally shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.

Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous, sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press.

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Routh tried to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to fight the Russians. In his native Greensboro, North Carolina, he was arrested in 2002 for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and a “weapon of mass destruction,” which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch fuse, police said.

In 2010, police searched a warehouse Routh owned and found more than 100 stolen items, from power tools and building supplies to kayaks and spa tubs. In both felony cases, judges gave Routh either probation or a suspended sentence.

In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.

“We have a small but powerful ecosystem here: exhibition spaces, artist studios, and people who are willing to work with each other,” said Sabine Schumacher, director of BronxArtSpace in Hunts Point. “The challenge will be the political climate and if we get enough funding.” 

BronxArtSpace Director Sabine Schumacher in the gallery space on Spofford Avenue. (Photo by Nick Baumstein)

On Spofford Avenue in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx, past factories, autobody shops, bodegas, and apartment buildings, lies BronxArtSpace—an art oasis in one of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods. 

BronxArtSpace is far from alone. Nearby Mott Haven, just one stop from Harlem-125th Street on the 6 train, has become a destination for artists fleeing Manhattan and Brooklyn in search of affordable, spacious studios.

In a 2020 Curbed article, one artist compared Port Morris—the waterfront section of Mott Haven —to “Williamsburg and Bushwick in the ’90s.” But as history has shown in those neighborhoods, the arrival of artists often leads to the very outcomes they were trying to avoid.

When BronxArtSpace was founded in 2010 by artists and Bronx residents Linda Cunningham and Mitsu Hadeishi, it was originally housed in the unused ground floor of a residential building in Mott Haven. Cunningham and Hadeishi reached out to friends and other local artists to build what was essentially a guerrilla art space. Artists were not paying rent, and there was no formal structure—just a group of people creating together.

According to Sabine Schumacher, current director of BronxArtSpace and Cunningham’s wife, the initial mindset was simple: “There is an empty space next door. Let’s do some art here.”

As interest in the space grew, they formed into an official organization and began applying for grants. Soon, BronxArtSpace became a fixture in the community—a place where artists could both create and exhibit their work. Today, the nonprofit offers artist residencies and ensures that at least 45 percent of its exhibiting artists are Bronx-based.

 “The mission has not changed very much,” Schumacher notes. “It was always and still today [is] a place that shows Bronx artists and curators.”

In the early days, the artists involved were nearly all Mott Haven residents. In 2011, the Gotham Gazette referred to Mott Haven as the nucleus of the South Bronx’s growing art scene. But as is often the case, affordability didn’t last. Once artists moved in, developers took notice.

“It is the ruthless market,” Schumacher said. “Mott Haven has a waterfront, and today there are 10 high-rises. It went so fast in the last 10 years.”

In 2021, BronxArtSpace’s then-landlords threatened to raise the rent to unaffordable levels.

Schumacher had already received many relocation offers from developers—but it wasn’t until MHANY Management (Mutual Housing Association of New York) reached out that a viable path forward emerged.

MHANY, a nonprofit housing developer, was formed in 1986 in response to the city’s fiscal crisis, which had led to widespread landlord abandonment. In many neighborhoods, families were forced to repair and maintain their buildings on their own. MHANY helped formalize these arrangements, working to place buildings under tenant or nonprofit control so that residents could achieve legal occupancy.

Today, MHANY remains focused on serving low-income New Yorkers, though the challenge has shifted. In a city where even its poorest neighborhoods face rising rents, MHANY now manages over 2,000 affordable units, concentrated in Central and Eastern Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and East Harlem.

The offers Schumacher received from for-profit developers were often pitched with the idea of “bringing in art,” but came with price tags that made them inaccessible. It wasn’t until a representative from MHANY asked, “How much can you afford to pay?” that she realized BronxArtSpace could have a sustainable new home in Hunts Point.

Mayor Adams touring one of the affordable apartments at The Peninsula development in 2022. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

The development BronxArtSpace joined is called The Peninsula, a mixed-use project developed by MHANY, Gilbane Development, and Hudson Companies on the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center—once one of the Bronx’s most notorious youth prisons, shuttered in 2011 due to abusive conditions.

The new location is part of a 100 percent affordable building, with units based on area median income and many reserved for formerly unhoused residents. “MHANY is interested in having something for the residents in their building that they can go to, feel safe in, and be proud of,” Schumacher said.

In 2023, BronxArtSpace was joined at The Peninsula by Inspiration Point, another nonprofit art space with a gallery, a black box theater, and 20 affordable studios for Bronx artists. BronxArtSpace enjoys close ties with Inspiration Point and other local organizations. 

“We have a small but powerful ecosystem here,” Schumacher said. “Exhibition spaces, artist studios, and people who are willing to work with each other.”

Still, operating an art space in a low-income neighborhood is an uphill battle. “We have no problem being here for the community,” Schumacher said. “The challenge will be the political climate and if we get enough funding.” 

A recent cut to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts was temporarily offset by three private organizations, but Schumacher isn’t sure how long that lifeline will last.

“The demand on BronxArtSpace is enormous,” she said. “We could host a show here every day.” 

Despite that interest, she still cannot afford to pay herself, or her community liaison Beverly Emmers, a living wage. The lease with MHANY is for just 10 years, and beyond that, their future is uncertain.

BronxArtSpace Director Sabine Schumacher at work. (Photo by Nick Baumstein)

Organizations like BronxArtSpace are vital to the fabric of New York City—but they’re under existential threat from the affordability crisis gripping the five boroughs.

According to Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, the risks facing artists today are unlike those of past decades. “I think the pandemic broke something in the art sector in New York that hasn’t been fixed,” he said.

The warning comes at a time when arts organizations are bracing for millions in federal funding cuts. “The city’s economic and cultural vitality depends on a healthy arts and culture sector,” Dvorkin said. “The city is going to have to find ways to step up and do more.”

That may require broadening the scope of support. While the Department of Cultural Affairs has long been the city’s main financier of the arts, Dvorkin argues that other agencies should also be involved. He points to the possibility of setting aside affordable housing specifically for artists, or tapping the Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Transportation, and the Parks Department to contract more artists for citywide projects.

“For much of the past 30 years, policymakers benefited from an arts and culture sector that was firing on all cylinders,” Dvorkin said. “It was continually growing, so the city didn’t have to make it a top priority. But the reality today is very different.”

Despite the headwinds, BronxArtSpace has shown the work of more than 2,000 artists in its 15-year history. Its persistence and commitment to elevating Bronx voices embody what it means to be a New York City arts institution: a place where creativity endures even in the face of instability.

As Dvorkin cautions, the value of the arts cannot be taken for granted. “We can’t rest easy thinking that elected officials and policymakers innately appreciate the full range of contributions,” he said. 

“Every year, every decade, we have to renew that case with fresh storytelling, powerful data, and new analysis,” he added. “Otherwise, when budgets tighten, the arts stand to lose—precisely at a moment when we will need them more than ever.”

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org. Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post BronxArtSpace and the Fight for Affordable Creativity in NYC appeared first on City Limits.