News Summary

• Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar said some AI researchers are taking up smoking to signal their belief that AI will eventually cure cancer.
• The logic, he said, is: "I believe so much in AI that it's going to cure cancer, so I'm showing you my chips are all in" He did not name any researchers or provide evidence for the claim.
• But the Palantir executive's remarks echo a countercurrent already visible in parts of the tech industry.
• As Business Insider's Henry Chandonnet reported last month, a small group of founders, engineers, and investors has embraced cigarettes.