The logic is not logging
Real talk: some AI researchers are apparently out here lighting up Marlboros to prove a point. According to Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, there’s a wild trend among AI experts who have started smoking cigarettes just to show off how much they believe AI is going to cure cancer.
Sankar dropped this take on CBS News' Face the Nation this past Sunday, claiming, “I believe so much in AI that it's going to cure cancer. So I'm showing you my chips are all in.”
The reality check
Before you let this influence your own lifestyle choices, let’s look at the facts. The CDC is very clear: cigarette smoke contains at least 69 chemicals that cause cancer and accounts for about one in three cancer deaths in the U.S. Smokers are sitting on a risk for lung cancer that is 25 times higher than non-smokers. It’s giving… bad advice.
Sankar didn't drop any names or evidence to back up his claim, leaving many wondering if this is actually a "thing" or just an intense vibe. He also compared some effective altruist movements to “millenarian doomsday cults,” framing AGI as a kind of substitute for religion.
Why it matters
This isn't just about bad health habits. Public trust in AI is already low—a CBS poll noted that 50% of Americans think AI will create more problems than it solves. Even industry leaders like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have pointed out that using the “we’ll cure cancer” line has become a tired cliché. While some tech bros might use smoking as an excuse to network, the rest of the world is feeling pretty skeptical about the industry's "all-in" mentality. This is definitely not financial or medical advice, so please, protect your lungs and stay skeptical of the hype.
