The Moderna breakthrough to reduce the re-occurrence of cancer is just the beginning. It is evidence that claims from the leaders of AI like Dario of Anthropic and Demis Hassabis that AI could all disease within ten years or that almost all cancer will be eliminated will become true.
Those who are wondering what benefits will be getting from the Age of AI will look forward to an age where diseases as difficult as cancer will be cured.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
AI may come up with a wonder drug overnight but it will still need to be tested for safety and efficacy which will take years.
Like mRNA COVID vaccine was?
There are differences between mRNA for covid versus mRNA for cancer. mRNA for cancer is only being given as a treatment when the risks from cancer are very high. the mRNA for covid involved using the spike protein which caused side effects and some bad outcomes.
Speaking as a cancer survivor, the normal acceptable risks for chemotherapy drugs would scare most people spitless if they weren’t already facing a death sentence, and just trying to get a commutation.
You don’t normally have a crash cart next to you the first time you take a vaccine because there’s a good chance you’ll go into anaphylactic shock. And the side effects are usually things that would have you headed to an emergency room.
Just a risk comparable to the Covid vaccine? Your average cancer patient would laugh.
I couldn’t agree more. I remember shaking my head listening to a podcast where people were discussing a sepsis-detection algorithm by Palantir, and saying how patients might want to avoid it as it could steal their data. Talk about out of touch.
Interesting example.
My reply would be;
1. That was a frantic response to a worldwide pandemic.
2. There was a LOT of government involvement, especially financial that would not be expected under typical circumstances.
3. The expediting of the development was clearly one factor in widespread public concern about the safety profile of the vaccines.
I know that lessons have been learned from that project and there are hopes for faster delivery of drugs, but companies have also learned that they need to be careful regarding public perceptions and blowback about taking perceived shortcuts that could undermine public trust in a company and its products.
I’d like to see diseases as difficult as aging be conquered, frankly. I’m not going to be around 20 years from now otherwise.
We’ve got a long way to go. Some of us, with less common forms of metastatic cancer, can only watch the world go by while we face an inexorable countdown. Lots of work to be done.