“AI will cure it by the time lung cancer sets in”... Why Silicon Valley’s AI geniuses have started smoking

[Financial News] A claim has emerged that some AI researchers have started smoking to demonstrate their belief that artificial intelligence (AI) will cure cancer.
According to Business Insider and other U.S. business media outlets on the 13th (local time), Shyam Sankar, Palantir’s chief technology officer (CTO), recently appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and mentioned cases of some AI researchers smoking.
“Many AI researchers have started smoking to show other researchers how strongly they believe in AI,” Sankar said.
Sankar explained that they are trying to demonstrate their faith in the technology by smoking because they are convinced AI can cure cancer.
However, Sankar reportedly did not provide specific statistics or survey results to support the claim. It has also not been confirmed whether smoking is actually becoming more widespread among AI researchers.
Sankar pointed out that some people in the tech industry regard artificial general intelligence (AGI) as a god-like being. “Many people developing this technology in Silicon Valley are filling a void in their hearts with a machine god called AGI,” he said.
He also described the atmosphere, in which pessimism that AI will destroy humanity coexists with optimism that it will create an ideal world, as “collective psychosis” and “social delusion.”
Business Insider previously reported last month that some Silicon Valley founders, engineers and investors were using smoking as an opportunity to socialize and build connections.
Avi Schiffmann, founder of AI wearable startup Friend, reportedly told the outlet at the time, “By the time lung cancer develops, AI robots will already be able to cure cancer.”
The outlet noted that smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death, and that there is no scientific evidence that AI can prevent the health damage caused by smoking.
[email protected] Minseo Seong Reporter