this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2026
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Fuck AI
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A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
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Honestly, there is potential to 'cure cancer with (help from) "AI".'
1: You take a DNA test (simple cheek swab or whatever) to identify your particular genetic risk factors might be. Or a small biopsy is done to sample some of the tumor itself and figure out exactly what kind of cancer it is. Just a needle would work, assuming it's somewhere a needle could reach. Only need a microscopic sample of it. Or if it has already metastasized into the bloodstream, a simple blood sample would do.
2: This genetic information is fed into a purpose-built AI (not an LLM) that's trained to identify the particular strain of cancer and match it with a custom-designed drug cocktail that will target that very specific cancer mutation perfectly.
3: The drug combination is synthesized, and you now have the perfect medication to combat exactly the strain of cancer you have.
The problem with 'curing cancer' is that there's millions of different kinds of cancer, millions of different mutations and genetic risk factors that can combine in different ways to produce different cancers that respond to different treatments. We already have 'cured' a few specific types of cancer -- a few specific strains that we already have found solutions to. But researching and developing a solution like that takes monumental effort and a ton of money and time. It's just not feasible to do for all the different kinds of cancer out there. If an AI could do that part quickly and easily, that might give us access to 'cures' for nearly every type of cancer, instead of just a few out of millions.
The "trained to identify the particular strain of cancer and match it with a custom-designed drug cocktail" is the magical thinking part of your idea - basically the "???" step of the three steps to Profit of the underpant gnomes.
Exactly, so I'm not saying AI will not be useful, AI will be useful in reducing cancer related deaths, early detection and management, but for a true "cure" it would have to be some other technology.