Moments after I posted my essay on why I couldn’t touch Anthropic’s IPO with a ten-foot pole, Anthropic’s CEO gave me (and everyone else) a reason to run away as fast as possible: a video tied to the IPO launch in which he made a bunch of overpromise about medicine that would have made Elizabeth Holmes blush.
NIK@ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
7:12 PM · Nov 10, 2026 · 2.45M Views
1.29K Replies · 1.06K Reposts · 13.3K Likes
As I have discussed before, this is not going to happen on anything remotely like that timeline. Cancer is more than one thing, and it will take more than a decade to eradicate it; the bit about curing mental illness (and some other things) that quickly is absolute fantasy.
The response from experts on X has been swift, and absolutely (and appropriately) brutal.
I was hardly the only one to get serious Elizabeth Holmes vibes. Here are four of my favorites:
Geoff Shullenberger@g_shullenberger
If you can’t see at least some parallels with Elizabeth Holmes here I don’t know what to tell you…
NIK @ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
2:48 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 123K Views
202 Replies · 897 Reposts · 8.88K Likes
Dr. Angela Rasmussen@angie_rasmussen
We can test for every disease on earth with a single drop of blood
NIK @ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
9:42 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 265K Views
104 Replies · 616 Reposts · 16.2K Likes
Alheli Picazo@a_picazo
That's not how mental illness works, and frankly, the more fantastical promises/predictions these CEOs make, the stronger the case against trusting them or their product becomes. Big Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos vibes.
John Cassidy @JohnCassidy
In other news, AI will cure mental illness within a decade.
5:05 AM · Nov 11, 2026 · 7.57K Views
29 Replies · 47 Reposts · 300 Likes
Charlotte Alter@CharlotteAlter
Genuine Q: How is Amodei saying AI can cure cancer, Alzheimers, heart disease meaningfully different than Elizabeth Holmes saying Theranos "can" test blood? Both are using "can" to mean: it may one day be possible. But she's a fraud and he's not?
NIK @ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
5:17 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 7.73K Views
38 Replies · 18 Reposts · 177 Likes
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The fact is, the field is in no position to do what Dario says, on anything like the timeline that he discusses.
On the one hand, we don’t have the data:
Rich Law@drrichjlaw
Stop it @DarioAmodei. The data exists for <1% of biology. Likely AI will help get a few better drugs slightly faster & more efficiently in that time frame but honestly, especially with 5-8 years needed in the clinic, what you are saying is hyperbolic BS!
NIK @ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
3:25 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 33.5K Views
74 Replies · 51 Reposts · 517 Likes
What Dario said about timelines just ain’t happening.
masterlongevity.@masterlongevity
@megtirrell @DarioAmodei For the most recent 20 drugs approved, the mean time from 1st in human to fda approval was 14yrs. The median was 10. So unless these miracles drugs are are already in clinical testing or are very close to it, then the answer is a definite no. I do think there is a shot for ai…
9:38 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 507 Views
2 Reposts · 6 Likes
As several researchers noted, we simply can’t expedite clinical trials — which are absolutely necessary — to the degree that would be required:
Rod Wong, MD@docrodwong
@megtirrell @DarioAmodei can someone send dario a drug dev gantt chart? ;) ...and just for context, i'm an AI bull, believe timelines will get a lot shorter, but we still have a process that has steps u aren't allowed to skip (like mouse experiments, manufacturing, fda interactions, and clinical
10:16 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 1.26K Views
3 Replies · 1 Repost · 21 Likes
Nicolas Kirchuk@KirchukNicolas
@megtirrell @DarioAmodei CEO of a precision oncology company here. Cured in under a decade? Clinical timelines alone make that very hard: a drug entering trials today reaches patients in the 2030s. What I do think is realistic: turning advanced cancer into a chronic disease people live with, like HIV.…
1:41 AM · Nov 12, 2026 · 178 Views
3 Likes
Practically anyone who works in the field knows what Dario said is bullshit.
Stephen Davis@madscientist_SD
@megtirrell @DarioAmodei As a life long Cancer Biologist in Pharma industry, I call this BS.
9:51 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 182 Views
6 Likes
Some of the pushback even came from prominent medical researchers who I would characterize as pretty pro AI..
Eric Topol@EricTopol
Setting an unattainable objective. I wish it would come true, but curing all these diseases in the next 10 years is impossible. And I'm very optimistic about the impact of AI for improving health.
NIK @ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
11:48 PM · Nov 10, 2026 · 126K Views
134 Replies · 104 Reposts · 931 Likes
Here’s the Chairman annd CEO of Eli Lilly, Dave Ricks, critiquing Dario and giving a far more realistic view:
Dave A Ricks@DaveARicks
I think that would be amazing and I think it’s not likely. The map of biology is still largely a blank page and randomized human proof is the long pole in the tent. I am excited about the use of AI in our sector but progress will likely be steady and incremental.
Meg Tirrell @megtirrell
“Cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, mental illness - these will be relics of the past in, I think, less than a decade.” — Anthropic CEO @DarioAmodei What do you think, bio folks? Source: https://t.co/GmtyTOpAoc
8:56 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 88.6K Views
33 Replies · 68 Reposts · 575 Likes
And here’s a professor of philosophy, stepping back to the larger context:
Megan Fritts@freganmitts
If you do not see this man, and his peers, as cult leaders, you are a fool. They are playing all angles simultaneously—doomsday cult, healing miracles cult, secret knowledge cult, messianic cult—and it’s been effective.
Fireside Alpha @firesidealpha
Dario Amodei says cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and mental illness will be relics of the past in less than a decade, and that "we can create an age of miracles" “You know, if today we look at things like cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, mental illness, these will be https://t.co/quRQbixDSu
12:46 AM · Nov 11, 2026 · 65.4K Views
108 Replies · 548 Reposts · 3.84K Likes
Letting this stuff slide is a mistake.
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The other part of the context, of course, is the IPO:
Rami Elghandour@RamiElghandour
I’ve taken two companies public. These are insane things to say in an IPO pitch and wreaks of desperation.
NIK @ns123abc
Anthropic CEO predicts cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, mental illness will be cured in less than 10 years ACCELERATE
1:30 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 52.9K Views
95 Replies · 74 Reposts · 697 Likes
Gary Marcus@GaryMarcus
dario’s ipo speech was as full of shit as anything elizabeth holmes ever said some investors never learn
Dr. Angela Rasmussen @angie_rasmussen
We can test for every disease on earth with a single drop of blood
11:27 PM · Nov 11, 2026 · 10.3K Views
9 Replies · 46 Reposts · 419 Likes
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Despite the widespread ridicule of Dario’s Elizabeth-Holmesian claims, I have not noticed a single article deconstructing them in the major media.
In failing to call Dario out on his latest, immediately pre-IPO bullshit — which is so egregious it should be investigated for securities fraud — the media is failing the American public.
P.S. You might need a tiny bit of technical background in software development to follow the below, but Dilbert couldn’t have captured the situation better:
