Mandy Oaklander | September 05, 2026

Proponents of artificial intelligence have recently been boasting about AI's ability to cure most diseases in a matter of years. But they're forgetting about the many chronic diseases and deaths that are caused by decisions we humans make.

In a new piece for TIME, Arianna Huffington writes about how human nature limits AI’s curative potential.

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We need a cure for AI health hype

By Arianna Huffington

Pakin Songmor—Getty Images

“I think it will actually be possible to cure most human disease in ~5-10 years, as crazy as it may sound to ordinary people and frankly to biologists as well (I used to be one!).”

This is what Dario Amodei, the co-founder of Anthropic recently posted on X.

Truth be told, this is not an uncommon take among AI leaders. On 60 Minutes last year, Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google DeepMind, declared that “we can cure all disease with the help of Al… maybe within the next decade or so, I don’t see why not.”

Actually, there’s a big reason why not: human nature. An estimated 80% of chronic diseases and premature deaths are not driven by our genes, but by the way we live: what we eat, how much we move, how we sleep, how we manage stress and stay socially connected. It’s true AI can accelerate drug discovery and personalize nudges for our daily behaviors, but it can’t “cure all disease” while ignoring human nature, free will, and how we live.

Read the full essay here.

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