By some estimates, more than a trillion dollars have already been invested in artificial intelligence. But large tech companies, including Meta and OpenAI, are still not content with today’s AI; they say they’ve set their sights on powerful, versatile AI that by some measure would match or even exceed human performance. A remarkable amount of resources is being poured into developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) or even more capable artificial super intelligence (ASI). Excitement around the potential of such a technology is often accompanied by casual claims of some remarkable capabilities.

One in particular—curing cancer—stands out to Emilia Javorsky, director of the Futures program at the Future of Life Institute, a think tank focused on benefits and risks of transformative technologies such as AI. In March, Javorsky published an essay titled “AI vs. Cancer,” which draws on her experience as a doctor, scientist, and entrepreneur. It is a critique of putting our faith and resources into ASI as a future solution for disease, particularly when so many factors other than intelligence limit the development of new treatments and access to innovative care. AI cannot analyze…