Podcast Summary: The Daily Scoop Podcast

Episode: How the CDC is using AI to revolutionize public health
Date: December 2, 2025
Host: Billy Mitchell (FedScoop)

Overview

This episode of The Daily Scoop Podcast centers on how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are pioneering the use of AI to transform public health. It features an in-depth conversation between Billy Mitchell and Travis Hoppe, CDC's Chief AI Officer, as well as a sponsored segment where Wyatt Cash interviews Todd Schroeder, VP of Public Sector at Databricks, about data governance and AI adoption across federal agencies.
Key themes include:

• CDC’s groundbreaking AI initiatives and ChatGPT rollout
• AI innovation and scaling within government
• Balancing risk and AI adoption
• The critical role of data infrastructure in transforming federal agencies with AI

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. CDC’s Leadership in Government AI Adoption

[04:51–06:47]

• Early Rollout of ChatGPT:
  • CDC was the first federal agency to enable ChatGPT for all staff back in 2023.
  • Full-scale access to the latest AI models across CDC and now HHS, leading to increased productivity and innovation.
• Impact Measurement:
  • Over 1.2 million chat interactions analyzed.
  • Approximately 41,000 staff hours saved.
  • Calculated 500% return on investment (ROI).
• Quote:

  “Since we’ve had it since 2023…we have all this telemetry. We could look at what everybody has done with the chatbot…We’ve saved about 41,000 hours…It is a 500% ROI on our initial investment.”
  — Travis Hoppe [05:47]

2. Creating and Sharing Generative AI Guidance

[06:56–07:16]

• CDC developed the federal government’s first generative AI guidance, which informed similar policies at Commerce and OPM.
• Quote:

  “We wrote generative AI guidance and we were the first federal agency to do so. Shared it with all of our partners…OPM’s Generative AI Guidance…used ours as a model…”
  — Travis Hoppe [06:59]

3. AI Action Plan and Data Platform Modernization

[07:42–08:33]

• Emphasis on operational fundamentals: data standardization, data platform modernization, and interoperability.
• One CDC Data Platform launched as a modernization strategy, aligning data standards and leveraging AI to process and harmonize data.
• Using AI to enhance and enforce data standards for better interoperability and alignment.

4. Where AI is Making the Biggest Impact for Public Health

[08:54–10:54]

• Transparency: Publicly available inventory of over 50 AI use cases last year—expected to double this year.
• AI Use Categories:
  • Back-office: Operational efficiency tools (chatbots, document review, business operations).
  • Front-office: Innovative research and forecasting.
    • Flu Site: A program predicting flu outbreaks by analyzing hospitals and providers—enabling proactive response (1-3 weeks ahead).
    • Tower Scout: Computer vision AI that drastically speeds up detection of industrial air conditioners during Legionnaires outbreaks by analyzing satellite imagery in seconds versus hours.
• Quote:

  “There is more AI than just chatbots and generative AI...Our Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics has this really cool program called ‘Flu Site’...we have another one called ‘Tower Scout’...AI...can do it in a couple seconds.”
  — Travis Hoppe [09:10; 10:14]

5. Building a Culture and Workforce for AI

[11:33–12:32]

• Workforce Engagement:
  • Robust community of practice; about 20% of CDC staff participate in AI-focused discussion groups.
  • Regular office hours and prompt-sharing sessions to encourage experimentation and learning.
  • Strategy highlights both top-down leadership and grassroots enthusiasm.
• Quote:

  “We have a really robust community of practice...20% of all the staff are in one Teams chat. That is just wild...Let people start their own communities of practice.”
  — Travis Hoppe [11:51]

6. Navigating the Balance Between AI Innovation and Risk

[12:48–13:05]

• CDC increasingly relies on “system cards and model cards” to standardize and document the provenance and risks of AI systems from vendors.
• These tools are becoming central to the CDC’s AI governance model.
• Quote:

  “The best way we’re looking at this is thinking about things like system cards and model cards. When vendors come to us, there’s a standard set of information...we need to standardize that in our governance model.”
  — Travis Hoppe [12:50]

Sponsored Segment: Databricks & Data-Driven Federal AI

[13:43–31:46] Featuring Wyatt Cash & Todd Schroeder

Major Challenges Facing Federal Agencies

[15:03–16:47]

• Legacy systems lead to fragmented data and high operating costs.
• Federal agencies have tried modernization by layering new tech, causing silos.
• The “rip-and-replace” approach is costly and slow.
• Quote:

  “What I...mean by that is traditionally to accomplish something new, we had suggested you must build something new...that really kind of ripped our organizations apart from a data standpoint, from a process standpoint.”
  — Todd Schroeder [15:27]

Shift to AI-Driven, In-Place Transformation

[16:47–22:11]

• Modern AI enables agencies to transform incrementally “in place,” integrating intelligence without massive system overhauls.
• Empowered by platforms that let agencies connect to all their data without duplicating or moving it.
• Databricks brings AI models to the data—maintaining security and reducing data silos.
• Quote:

  “You can transform in place...by connecting that data without changing how all those programs work today...transform in place.”
  — Todd Schroeder [17:55]

Databricks' Lakehouse & Model Governance

[22:11–25:29]

• Databricks’ Data Lakehouse consolidates multiple data sources without moving data, allows for full model evaluation in context.
• Robust governance (Unity Catalog) ensures data security and compliance.
• Quote:

  “Databricks is so unique in that it brings all of those models to your data plane so you don’t have to take your data...to one tool or...50 different tools.”
  — Todd Schroeder [22:15]

Practical Agency Outcomes

[29:16–30:49]

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Real-time data from states accelerates policy reforms and benefit payments.
• US Postal Service: Optimizing national mail logistics.
• IRS: Managing complex, high-volume, unstructured data in regulatory processes.
• Department of Defense: Integrated data from 900+ systems, improving audits, fraud detection, and procurement.
• Quote:

  “CMS helping thwart fraud…USPS…IRS…Department of Defense…organizing your data gives you very unique insights and...helps you change what those outcomes are, remove fraud, accelerate processing, deliver on...impacts in local communities…”
  — Todd Schroeder [29:17; 30:30]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On CDC leading federal ChatGPT rollout:

  “CDC was the first federal agency in the entire government to turn on ChatGPT for everybody.” — Travis Hoppe [05:15]

• On the multiplicity of AI applications:

  “I like to think of AI in our organization as front of the house and back of the house...There’s more AI than just chatbots and generative AI.” — Travis Hoppe [09:02]

• On scaling government AI using policy:

  “We wrote generative AI guidance and we were the first federal agency to do so. Shared it with all of our partners…” — Travis Hoppe [06:59]

• On workforce engagement:

  “We have office hours, we run this little thing where we ask staff what their favorite prompts are to use the chatbot, and that engaged staff in such a fundamental way…” — Travis Hoppe [12:05]

• On AI risk governance:

  “System cards and model cards…we need to standardize that in our governance model.” — Travis Hoppe [12:50]

Important Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |---------|------| | CDC’s ChatGPT rollout, ROI, and first-in-government status | 04:51–06:47 | | Generative AI standards and government scaling | 06:56–07:16 | | Data platform modernization and AI Action Plan | 07:42–08:33 | | Key public health AI solutions | 08:54–10:54 | | Building workforce AI capacity | 11:33–12:32 | | Navigating innovation and risk in public sector AI | 12:48–13:05 | | Databricks on breaking legacy data silos | 15:03–16:47 | | Bringing AI to the data, not data to AI | 22:11–25:29 | | Examples of federal agencies realizing AI-driven gains | 29:16–30:49 |

Tone & Language Notes

The conversation is open, enthusiastic, and practical. Travis Hoppe brings an inside perspective with a sense of pride, accessibility, and transparency. Todd Schroeder delivers context in a crisp, confident manner, aiming to demystify technology for government decision-makers.

Conclusion

This episode highlights how the CDC is pioneering the responsible and strategic adoption of AI in public health—delivering tangible benefits in terms of productivity, efficiency, and crisis management. The conversation provides a transparent look at lessons learned, empirically backed results, and the organizational strategies (both technological and human-centered) behind successful government AI programs. The sponsored segment by Databricks offers a broader federal perspective, underscoring the importance of modern data infrastructure and governance to realize the full potential of AI at scale in government.