Rene Haas, chief executive of Cambridge-based chip designer Arm Holdings, has said artificial intelligence will eventually cure cancer, but that current AI growth is being constrained by a shortage of chips needed to build data centres. Speaking to the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast, Haas said modelling how cancer affects DNA markers is currently too complex for both humans and existing AI systems, but that increasingly sophisticated computers would eventually crack the problem. His comments carry weight given Arm's central role in global chip design, though a cancer researcher cautioned that progress depends less on computing power and more on the quality of data used to train medical AI models.

Haas, who left AstraZeneca's board in April and holds a senior role at Arm's Japanese parent SoftBank, also predicted widespread use of self-learning humanoid robots within five to ten years, capable of adapting to tasks such as cleaning, security and construction repairs. He downplayed fears of mass job losses and a stock market correction in AI firms, and said he was sceptical the UK could realistically manufacture chips domestically. Arm's technology, he noted, now powers half of the world's AI data centres, with demand for its new AI chip—developed at Meta's request—exceeding $2bn since its March launch.