AI will help find a cure for cancer in our lifetime, says Arm boss

The boss of one of the UK’s biggest chip companies has claimed AI will be able to find a cure for cancer “in our lifetime”.

Rene Haas, chief executive of the chip designer Arm Holdings, said that, while modelling how a DNA marker is affected by cancer was currently “too complex” a problem for either humans or technology, computers were “going to solve it” in the future.

Haas, who stepped down from the board of British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in April, told the BBC: “AI is going to … find a cure for cancer that today you and I, other humans [could] not in our lifetimes. I believe in our lifetime, AI will help cure cancer.

“Modelling how a DNA marker is impacted by cancer – it’s too complex a problem, not only for humans today, but the computers that run AI.

“However, going forward, as we feed more and more of the models into these computers, and the computers get more sophisticated to run the models, they’re going to solve it.”

Scientists are already using AI-driven tools in cancer research and testing. Earlier this year, the NHS said more than 4 million patients received faster lung diagnosis thanks to funding in AI-powered X-ray tools.

Haas added that AI would also pave the way for widespread humanoid robots within the next five years, but that chip shortages were stunting growth in the area.

“With artificial intelligence, these robots can see, learn, and essentially be reprogrammed for new tasks,” he said. “So, in the service industry, the robot that was programmed to make a bed can also learn how to arrange the towels in a room, or clean the dustbins, or whatever you want to go off and do.”

Arm, which is listed in New York but retains its global headquarters in Cambridge, has about 500 users of its chip designs worldwide, including Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm and Nvidia. The company employs more than 7,000 staff, including about 3,000 in the UK. It is the biggest technology company headquartered in Britain – valued at $269bn (£199bn).

Haas, who joined Arm in 2013 and became chief executive in 2022, was also recently named chief executive of SoftBank’s international business. The Japanese bank is one of the biggest tech investors in the world, with a stake in ChatGPT maker OpenAI.