The chief executive of Arm Holdings says artificial intelligence will help find a cure for cancer within our lifetime. Rene Haas made the comments in an interview with the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast.
Haas leads Arm, a Cambridge-based company that designs the processors used in phones, cars, and other devices. He said modeling how a DNA marker is affected by cancer is currently too complex for computers to solve.
He believes that will change. As more data is fed into AI systems, Haas said the computers running them will keep improving. Eventually, he said, they will solve problems that humans cannot solve alone.
Haas stepped down from the board of AstraZeneca in April. He also holds a role at SoftBank, which owns Arm and has invested in OpenAI.
Other scientists agree AI has promise in medicine, but with a caveat. Professor Chris Bakal of the Institute of Cancer Research in London said the real question isn't whether AI is used, but what data it learns from.
Bakal said his lab trains AI using data from actual patient samples rather than information pulled from the internet. He said this method does not require massive data centers to run.
Chip Shortage Slows AI Growth
Haas also spoke about the pace of AI expansion. He said growth is being held back by a shortage of chips needed to build data centers.
He pointed to plans for large data centers in France and the United States. There are even proposals to place data centers in space.
Haas said more chip factories are needed before those plans can move forward. He does not think the UK should try to build its own chip factories, saying they are expensive and require specialized workers and resources.
This comes as the UK government has held talks with the chip industry about bringing parts of the supply chain to Britain. Haas said he does not see that as necessary.
Job Losses 'Overstated'
Haas addressed concerns that AI will cause mass unemployment. He said predictions about jobs disappearing are overstated.
He said AI will create new opportunities even as it changes some jobs. Haas also said humanoid robots powered by AI chips will become common within five years.
He described robots that could learn multiple tasks, such as making beds and then adjusting to clean a room. He said this shift will affect manufacturing, cleaning, and repair work.
Haas said fears about a stock market correction for AI companies are also overstated. He pointed to long-term demand for AI technology as the reason.
Arm's share price hit a peak earlier this summer. That made it the most valuable UK-based company in history in cash terms.
The company's technology is now used in half of the world's AI data centers. Facebook owner Meta asked Arm to build a custom AI chip called the Arm AGI chip.
Haas said demand for that chip has been high. He said Arm has received more than $2 billion in orders since the chip launched in March.
Arm was sold to Japanese investors in 2016. Some UK officials have said they regret the company listing on the Nasdaq instead of in London.
Haas said half of Arm's employees are still based in the UK. He called Arm the largest employer in Cambridge.
