We Need a Cure for AI Health Hype

“I think it will actually be possible to cure most human disease in ~5-10 years, as crazy as it may sound to ordinary people and frankly to biologists as well (I used to be one!).”Truth be told, this is not an uncommon take among AI leaders. On 60 Minutes last year, Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google DeepMind, declared that “we can cure all disease with the help of Al… maybe within the next decade or so, I don’t see why not.” Actually, there’s a big reason why not: human nature. An estimated 80% of chronic diseases and premature deaths are not driven by our genes, but by the way we live: what we eat, how much we move, how we sleep, how we manage stress and stay socially connected. It’s true AI can accelerate drug discovery and personalize nudges for our daily behaviors, but it can’t “cure all disease” while ignoring human nature, free will, and how we live. The view among those currently working to lower the disease burden is considerably less utopian than in AI. “Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease—we don’t have cures for any of those common diseases,” says cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol. “To think that in the next five or 10 years new drugs are going to change everything, there’s...