Nurses, the largest segment of the U.S. health-care workforce, are pressing to shape how hospitals deploy artificial intelligence, warning that unrestrained adoption could erode jobs, intensify surveillance and compromise patient care. Unions including National Nurses United, which represents more than 200,000 nurses, have amplified concerns with protests from New York to California—where Kaiser Permanente nurses are striking over AI that tracks their productivity and influences care decisions. At Montefiore in the Bronx, laid-off nurses say administrative AI is displacing staff.
Even as labor battles play out, nursing educators and researchers are pushing to equip the next generation of nurses with AI literacy and to embed frontline clinicians in the design, testing and rollout of patient-facing tools. Advocates argue that integrating nurses into governance and development will reduce bias, align systems with clinical workflows and improve safety. The debate underscores a broader tension in health care: leveraging AI for efficiency and outcomes while safeguarding workers’ roles and patient trust.
Related articles:
WHO guidance on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health
NIST AI Risk Management Framework
National Nurses United press statements on AI and patient safety
