Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A lawsuit filed in federal court alleges Mayo Clinic ignored federal safeguards and retaliated against a now former employee when she raised concerns.
Traci Tamiko Eto alleges she was “targeted, isolated, demoted and fired while on medical leave after blowing the whistle on how the hospital’s rush to incorporate AI into their operations put patient care and privacy at risk while manipulating data critical in the institution’s medical research,” according to a news release published by the law firm representing her.
Eto was hired by the Rochester-based healthcare provider as Director of Research Operations in 2023 and dismissed in December of 2025, the lawsuit says.
Eto suffered what the federal court document describes as a “depressive episode immediately after her de facto demotion.” She was eventually granted FMLA Leave after threatening legal action, the suit claims.
The news release says Eto’s role at Mayo Clinic was “to lead the hospital’s efforts to establish new AI security and privacy-based safeguards in keeping with new federal regulations,” which were issued via Executive Order by the Biden Administration in 2023.
Eto’s suit claims she uncovered “a disturbing set of flaws in Mayo’s AI compass” that included “gaps in the protection of patient privacy” and the “manipulation of data to conceal unfavorable outcomes” and the “deployment of a software...
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