Palantir’s CTO claims AI researchers are smoking to prove they believe AI will cure cancer, and he says it’s a sign of tech-fueled ‘mass psychosis’

Palantir's CTO, Shyam Sankar, claims that researchers are smoking cigarettes to demonstrate their belief in AI's potential to cure cancer. This, according to Sankar, is indicative of a "mass psychosis" gripping Silicon Valley as companies rush to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI). Sankar suggests that researchers are filling a perceived "God-shaped hole" in the debate surrounding AI safety with the idea of AGI.

He has previously accused some AI safety advocates, often associated with effective altruism, of politicizing the debate around AI regulations. Sankar claims that the vast majority of U.S. AI researchers subscribe to the worldview promoted by effective altruism, which he refers to as a "millenarian doomsday cult." Effective altruism, a movement advocating for rational processes to maximize good for the greatest number of people, has gained mainstream attention partly due to Sam Bankman-Fried, a former crypto CEO who later served a 25-year prison sentence for fraud.

While not all effective altruists are involved in AI, or AI safety advocates associated with the movement, some organizations, like the Open Philanthropy Action Fund, have recently pushed for AI regulations and reforms. Not all AI researchers are smoking, but some startup founders have resumed the habit, possibly to enhance networking.

However, Sankar argues that those warning about AI dangers are largely wrong, and their concerns may be hindering discussions on AI's current impacts on the American workforce and its results.