AI will help find cure for cancer ‘within our lifetimes’, says Arm Holdings chief

Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas asserts that artificial intelligence (AI) will be instrumental in discovering a cure for cancer within human lifetimes. Haas explains that while the complexity of modelling how a DNA marker interacts with cancer is currently beyond human and technological capabilities, computers employing AI will eventually solve the problem.

Haas, who previously served on the board of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, spoke to the BBC about the transformative potential of AI in medicine. AI has already been employed in cancer research and testing, with the NHS reporting that AI-powered X-ray tools have enabled faster lung cancer diagnoses for over 4 million patients.

Haas also predicts that AI will enable the widespread use of humanoid robots within the next five years, citing their ability to see, learn, and reprogrammed for new tasks. These robots, he says, can perform various services in the industry, adapting to tasks such as bed-making, towel arrangement, or dustbin cleaning. Arm Holdings, a leading UK chip company valued at $269bn, has approximately 500 users of its chip designs globally, including tech giants such as Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Nvidia.

With over 7,000 employees worldwide, including 3,000 in the UK, Haas joined Arm in 2013 and became CEO in 2022. He was recently appointed CEO of SoftBank's international business, a major tech investor with stakes in companies like OpenAI. Haas recently proposed a pay scheme that could potentially make him a billionaire if Arm becomes a trillion-dollar company.