Palantir CTO says some researchers are taking up smoking, betting AI will cure cancer

Palantir Technologies Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar has criticised extreme predictions about artificial intelligence, describing the public debate as a "mass psychosis" and "social delusion" that distracts from technological progress.

Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation", Sankar said warnings that AI could destroy humanity reflected a "theological perspective" rather than conclusions based on empirical evidence, reports Benzinga.

He also criticised excessive optimism about the technology, citing researchers whose confidence in AI's potential to cure cancer has led some to take up smoking as a demonstration of their faith in future medical breakthroughs.

"I believe so much in AI that it's going to cure cancer. So I will—I'm showing you my chips are all in", Sankar said, describing the mindset of researchers who believe AI will deliver major advances in medicine.

Sankar said technology companies had two main responsibilities: demonstrating that AI could strengthen national prosperity and security, and engineering safety into products from the outset. He has also criticised the Effective Altruism movement for allowing a small group of people to influence the pace of AI development.

While debate over AI's long-term risks and potential has intensified, industry leaders have pointed to practical applications in healthcare, including drug development, cancer testing and research into how cancer interacts with human cells and DNA.

Arm Holdings Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas has said AI could help "solve complex cancer research problems, accelerate drug development and testing, and model how cancer affects cells, humans and DNA markers".

However, Haas has warned that chip shortages and constraints in hardware infrastructure are limiting the expansion of computing capacity needed to support such applications.

Commercial partnerships are also advancing the use of AI and related technologies in cancer treatment. Tempus AI has expanded its collaboration with Moderna and Merck to provide tissue and blood sample logistics and next-generation sequencing services for their individualised cancer therapy, intismeran autogene.

The developments highlight the gap between broad claims about AI's future and the practical challenges of deploying the technology, including the need for computing infrastructure and its application to specific medical problems.