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Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, Says AI Researchers Have Started Smoking Because They’re Convinced AI (Claude, Probably) Is Going to Cure Cancer

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 16/10/2026, 17:07:24 UTC.

Briefings

Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, stated that AI researchers are smoking to signal belief in AI's ability to cure cancer, describing this as a 'mass psychosis.' He specifically suspected Anthropic researchers, claiming Claude is already conscious. The evidence comes from a Face the Nation transcript where Sankar expressed this belief, though the source does not name specific individuals or provide dates for the smoking trend.

Key points

• Shyam Sankar, CTO of Palantir, claimed AI researchers are smoking to signal belief in AI's ability to cure cancer.

Context

Sankar's comments were made on Sunday's Face the Nation, where he described the trend as a 'mass psychosis.' The source does not specify the exact date of the smoking trend or name specific researchers, though it suggests Anthropic researchers may be involved.

Limitations

The evidence is limited to a transcript of a single broadcast. Specific dates for the smoking trend are not provided, and no specific researchers are named beyond a general suspicion of Anthropic researchers.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 16/10/2026, 19:36:56 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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