AI Could Help Find a Cure for Cancer, Says Tech CEO

The leader of one of the United Kingdom's biggest technology companies believes artificial intelligence will help find a cure for cancer during our lifetimes. Rene Haas is the chief executive of Arm Holdings, a company that designs the tiny chips found inside phones, computers, and other devices. He made these bold claims in a recent interview with the BBC, saying AI will be able to solve problems that are simply too hard for humans or today's computers to figure out on their own.

Haas explained that one of the biggest challenges in cancer research is understanding how DNA markers are changed by the disease. A DNA marker is like a tiny tag inside your body's cells that scientists can study to learn about health and illness. He said this problem is currently too complex for both humans and today's AI-powered computers — but that won't always be the case. As computers grow more powerful and scientists feed them more information, Haas believes they will eventually crack the code.

The good news is that AI is already being used to fight cancer right now. Earlier this year, the UK's National Health Service — known as the NHS — announced that more than four million patients received faster diagnoses for lung cancer. This was made possible by AI-powered X-ray tools that can spot problems quicker than traditional methods. Getting a faster diagnosis can make a huge difference in how well a patient is treated.

Haas also predicted that AI will help bring humanoid robots into everyday life within the next five years. Humanoid robots are machines built to look and move like humans. He said these robots will be able to learn new tasks, making them useful in places like hotels and restaurants. For example, a robot trained to make a bed could also learn how to arrange towels or empty trash bins.

However, Haas noted that a shortage of chips is currently slowing down the growth of these robots. Without enough chips, companies cannot build robots fast enough to meet demand. This is a challenge that the tech industry is working hard to solve. As chip production grows, experts expect robotic technology to advance quickly.

Arm Holdings is a major player in the world of technology, based in Cambridge, England, with its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Around 500 companies use Arm's chip designs, including well-known names like Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia. The company employs more than 7,000 people worldwide, with about 3,000 of them working in the UK. Arm is currently valued at about $269 billion, making it the biggest technology company headquartered in Britain.

Haas joined Arm in 2013 and became its chief executive in 2022, and he recently took on an added role leading SoftBank's international business. SoftBank is a large Japanese bank that invests in technology companies around the world, including OpenAI, the maker of the popular chatbot ChatGPT. Earlier this year, Arm also proposed a pay plan that could make Haas a billionaire if he reaches the goal of turning Arm into a trillion-dollar company.