Researchers believe AI could cure cancer patients around the world

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley has a new status symbol, and it's not a smartwatch or a standing desk. According to one tech executive, it's cigarettes. Palantir's chief technology officer says that some AI researchers are lighting up to show how much they believe in the technology. Now, Palantir's CTO, Shyam Sankar, made the claim in an interview with CBS News. He says that many researchers have taken up smoking as a signal to their peers that they're fully committed to AI. Well, if you're wondering what the logic is behind this, well, these researchers are convinced that artificial general intelligence, a machine as smart as or smarter than humans, will one day cure cancer. So the long-term health risk of smoking, in their view, will be resolved by the very technology that they're building. Now, Sankar termed this trend as mass psychosis and a social delusion. He also said that some in the industry have filled a God-shaped hole with what he called the machine god of AGR. It's unclear how many researchers are actually doing this, and Sankar offered no evidence for it. But according to a report by Fortune, nicotine products are making a comeback in tech offices. And Palantir's own Washington, D.C. office has vending machines stocked with free nicotine pouches. Business Insider also quotes Avi Shrifman, CEO of AI wearable startup, Friend, joking that by the time someone gets lung cancer, AI robots should have cured it. Palantir's other boss has been making headlines as well with a warning that it is far more serious than a smoking habit. And this time, it's about what AI might one day know about you. Now, these intelligence machines, they could hold a lot of promise, but this can vary from creating new vaccines to developing medicines in the next few weeks. The present computers take months and even years to achieve them. AI has been used from simple automation to producing weapons, causing concerns, but can AI actually predict future? Well, Palantir CEO Alex Karp has said that predictive AI, it could soon go beyond guessing what you'll buy next. It could start guessing what you are thinking. Today, companies are already using AI to forecast whether you will make a purchase or repay a loan. And these systems study past behavior to predict what comes next. Karp is warned that the same methods could go much further, anticipating thoughts before a person acts on them. Karp said that the same tools could eventually be applied to people inside the United States. He urged that this could be looked at and controlled now. He also cautioned that companies could follow the letter of the law while undermining its spirit. So while one talented executive has said that Silicon Valley has lost its grip on reality, the other one wants that AI could one day predict your thoughts. And this while the market is betting on both.