Palantir executives say AI researchers have started smoking, betting that AI will cure cancer

Palantir's Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar stated in an interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that many AI researchers have started smoking to demonstrate their confidence in AI to other researchers. He quoted the attitude of such researchers saying, "I truly believe in AI; it will cure cancer, so I’m showing you that I’m all in." Sankar did not name any specific researcher nor cite survey data; this statement was made in passing when host Margaret Brennan pressed him on why he was so focused on the topic.

In the interview, Sankar referred to effective altruism as a "millennial-style doomsday cult" and mentioned FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried as the most well-known representative of the movement. He also cited Pascal's idea that everyone has a "God-shaped hole" in their heart, claiming that some researchers are trying to fill this hole with a machine god called AGI.

Medical data contrasts with this claim. The U.S. CDC states that smoking causes about one-third of cancer deaths in the U.S., and cigarette smoke contains at least 69 known carcinogenic chemicals, with smokers being about 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated in August that the promise of AI curing cancer is "more of a cliché than inspiring," and that only a true cure for cancer can win public trust. CBS polling shows that 50% of Americans believe the problems created by AI outweigh the problems it solves, and 45% want the government to limit the use and development of AI.