The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has appointed Gil Alterovitz as its inaugural Chief Super Intelligence Officer, placing super intelligence at the center of a federal health agency's leadership structure. Alterovitz will retain his existing position as Chief Data Officer, combining responsibility for data with a new role focused on applying super intelligence to improve health outcomes for Americans.
According to CDO Magazine, Alterovitz announced the appointment in a LinkedIn post and said he would continue assembling a team to advance the agency's mission. His remit centers on developing super intelligence for evidence, data and implementation, connecting these areas to the broader goal of improving healthcare outcomes. The announcement establishes a new leadership position but does not specify the team's size, its budget or a timetable for delivering results.
A new leadership role
The appointment brings together two related responsibilities: overseeing data and advancing the agency's work on super intelligence. As Chief Data Officer, Alterovitz already occupies a position concerned with how an organization manages and uses data. His new title adds a distinct focus on developing super intelligence for evidence-based health work and putting that work into practice.
AHRQ operates within the US Department of Health and Human Services and supports research into the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare. Its mission makes evidence and reliable health information important components of its work. Alterovitz's stated focus on evidence, data and implementation aligns these elements around the goal of better health outcomes.
Experience in federal AI
Alterovitz brings experience developing artificial intelligence capabilities inside the federal government. At the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), he founded the National Artificial Intelligence Institute and became its first director. He also served as Chief AI Officer for the VA and VHA.
His responsibilities included helping create the VA's first artificial intelligence strategy and its department-wide Trustworthy AI Framework. These initiatives placed him in roles involving both the development of AI capabilities and the broader framework for using the technology across a large public institution.
Research beyond government
Alterovitz also holds academic responsibilities at Harvard Medical School, where he is an associate professor and directs the Biomedical Cybernetics Laboratory. His research leadership has included international efforts addressing drug-resistant diseases, an area where biomedical evidence and the interpretation of complex health data can be important to understanding treatment challenges.
His work also covers clinical genomics and health data standards. He led the design of SMART-on-FHIR Genomics and HL7 FHIR Genomics, projects associated with structuring and exchanging health information. Genomics concerns the study of an organism's genetic material, while data standards help different systems represent and share information consistently.
These activities provide additional context for his new appointment. His experience spans research, health information infrastructure and public-sector technology leadership, rather than being limited to a single AI program or institution.
Roles across public service
Alterovitz's work extends beyond AHRQ and Harvard Medical School. He serves as president of the Presidential Innovation Fellows Foundation, a nonprofit organization. In 2025, he also served as senior adviser to the director and inaugural Chief AI Officer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal agency responsible for supporting and conducting biomedical research.
The NIH role adds another example of his involvement in federal AI leadership. Combined with his work at the VA and VHA, it shows experience across multiple institutions involved in healthcare delivery, research and technology. His academic work adds a separate research dimension, including clinical genomics and efforts related to drug-resistant diseases.
CDO Magazine's report does not identify specific super intelligence systems that AHRQ intends to build, nor does it describe a deployment schedule or measurable targets. The appointment announcement instead establishes Alterovitz's responsibilities and outlines the experience he brings to the role.
Why it matters
AHRQ's decision creates a dedicated senior position for super intelligence while retaining data leadership under the same executive. That structure puts the agency's ambitions for super intelligence alongside the evidence and information needed to support healthcare research and implementation. Alterovitz's background in federal AI programs, biomedical research and health data standards offers relevant experience for connecting those areas.
The next important signals will be practical: how Alterovitz builds his team, what work it undertakes and how the agency translates its stated mission into applications intended to improve health outcomes. The announcement does not establish that any particular system has been deployed or that clinical results have already changed. For now, the appointment marks a leadership decision; the team's composition, projects and eventual outcomes will show how AHRQ intends to turn its super intelligence mandate into practice.