Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) CTO Shyam Sankar challenged extreme views on AI, saying doomsday predictions reflect theological beliefs, while some researchers' extreme faith in its potential borders on fanaticism.

Sankar, while speaking on Sunday at CBS "Face the Nation," said warnings from some AI researchers about humanity's possible destruction reflect a theological perspective, rather than conclusions based entirely on empirical evidence. Citing an instance on the other side of the spectrum, Sankar said some AI researchers are so confident the technology will cure cancer that they have taken up smoking to signal their all-in bet on AI.

“I believe so much in AI that it’s going to cure cancer. So I will—I’m showing you my chips are all in,” Sankar said as he spoke about AI researchers. Sankar said the widespread hype around AI amounted to "mass psychosis" and "social delusion," distracting from the technology's actual developments.

Sankar said the technology industry has two obligations: proving AI can strengthen national prosperity and security, while also engineering products with safety integrated from the beginning.

The comments follow a broader dispute over who should influence AI development. In September, Sankar criticized the Effective Altruism movement's influence over AI safety debates, arguing that a small group should not determine the pace of technological progress.

AI’s Healthcare Promise Meets Infrastructure Limits

Industry leaders have simultaneously highlighted AI's potential benefits in the medical landscape and practical limitations. Rene Haas, CEO of Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM), said in September that AI could eventually advance cancer research and drug development, but warned that chip shortages were constraining infrastructure expansion. Haas said that AI could eventually help solve complex cancer research problems, accelerate drug development and testing, and model how cancer affects cells, humans and DNA markers—tasks that remain difficult for current computing systems.

That potential is already being paired with commercial healthcare efforts. Earlier this month, Tempus AI Inc. (NASDAQ:TEM) expanded its collaboration involving an individualized cancer therapy jointly developed by Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK). Building on a collaboration launched last year, Tempus will help prepare for the potential commercialization of intismeran autogene by coordinating tumor tissue and blood sample collection and transfer, and providing next-generation sequencing services subject to regulatory approvals to support treatment design and manufacturing.