The grand ambition of artificial intelligence to cure cancer remains on hold due to a simple, yet tech-savvy issue: the chip shortage. Arm Holdings’ CEO, Rene Haas, revealed this conundrum during a BBC interview, asserting that while AI holds the key to curing cancer, the current complexity of modelling a DNA marker impacted by cancer is too much for today’s hardware.

Haas, who has also been involved with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, sees a future where AI-driven humanoid robots will be commonplace within the next five years. However, this future is currently hindered by the lack of crucial microchips needed to build data centres. He remains pessimistic about the UK manufacturing chips in the near future, citing the high cost and specialized labour required.

Despite these challenges, Haas is optimistic about the long-term prospects of AI, noting that its demand is robust and that Arm’s power-efficient technology is now in half of the world’s AI data centres. The tech giant has also received a surge in demand for AI chips, with Facebook-owner Meta asking Arm to develop the Arm AGI chip, generating over $2bn in sales since March.

Haas acknowledges the concerns over job losses but argues that these fears are exaggerated. He asserts that while there will be changes in the workforce, the opportunities created by AI will outweigh the losses. His comments come at a time when the UK tech sector is grappling with its identity after being sold to Japanese investors, yet he maintains that Arm remains a significant employer in the UK, particularly in Cambridge.