On AI regulation and messaging • Hacker News Board

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#321

Post by cucumber3732842 » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:10 PM UTC

jbs789 wrote: post #288

I am skeptical of David. But he is spot on with this comment: “Yet Dario blames public negativity on a long-standing loss of trust in institutions rather than his own messaging.“ Dario’s arrogance and blind spots are really something to behold.

I think he's on to something.

Nobody is worried about any AI company in the abstract the way people are worried about other companies in the abstract (e.g. an oil company might ruin the environment just simply as a byproduct of engaging in their core business).

Everybody worried about their government, their utility companies, their employer, their landlord, all the faceless BigCos they do business with, etc, etc. getting their grubby mitts on AI and then using it to screw them even more than they're already being screwed.

The whole system is set up to screw people right now and it does it as fast and as hard as it can. AI is see as bad to the extent that it lets the screwing happen at a higher tempo.

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#322

Post by epihelix » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:10 PM UTC

tsimionescu wrote: post #112

mindwok wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a noob on this topic, but I think drug discovery is more amenable to this structurally than other problems. Simulating biology is what we were doing with protein folding before Alphafold, and the search space was far too large to find stuff in reasonable timeframes. Alphafold showed that you could take a physical process and make a neural net clever enough to learn just enough structure that it starts finding thi…

There are two relevant problems here, I think. For one, the question for Anthropic is whether LLMs, specifically, not AI techniques more generally, can help significantly with cancer research. And here, all experience so far is that LLMs only really work when they can easily automatically verify their own outputs and self correct - such as in math (using automatic proof verifiers) or programming (using compilers and…

For drug discovery, you can simulate interactions in silico, driven in an agentic loop via LLM. Mostly stil using non-LLM tools, of course, but it saves time.

If I was Dario, and I was after a cynical sales grab to go with the "actually curing cancer!" spiel, I'd probably aim for a drug repurposing strategy. I'd use the above approach to find existing drugs that might target known pathways that drive incurable cancers. I'd only screen compounds with extensive safety data and easy delivery mechanisms, and from the in silico hits, I'd throw a tonne of money at rapidly experimentally screening all those candidates in parallel, and then rapidly push those that worked into clinical trials. I'd assume that, with a small but non-negligible prior, and the money to push through hundreds and hundreds of candidate compounds through at once, I'd have a reasonable chance of getting one drug through to a "Claude Cured Cancer!" show-stopper headline.

But I think even then, with all of Anthropic's wealth, you'd need 2 years minimum to move from initial screening targets to a Phase 3 trial. And it would be an almost criminal waste of research funding to get there -- the dollars for discoveries ratio would be appallingly bad.

(If I was Dario, and I actually wanted to cure some forms of cancer? I'd just use my obscene profits to fund actual cancer research, step back, and let the researchers get on with it.)

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#323

Post by landdate » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:11 PM UTC

mhaberl wrote: post #213

> We are however doing our best to fix this: Anthropic is ramping up its efforts very quickly in biology and medicine, and we hope to have incredible results in the coming years and some early glimmers in the coming months. When we’ve actually accomplished something real, the whole world will hear about it, as loudly as possible, you have my word on that. 1. He is giving his word that if he cures cancer, he will brag…

"hope to have incredible results"

I would imagine "hope" in this context is more expectation for him than the average person who might "hope" for something incredible but rarely do they base their entire career on it. Or maybe I'm just not too acquainted with silicon valley types. I always thought the whole delusional optimism was just a show for investors.

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#324

Post by user43928 » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:12 PM UTC

smoe wrote: post #148

mindwok wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more reasonable than it sounds on the surface. People's jobs, the bubble, etc are societal level problems and well beyond what Anthropic could even hope to influence on their own. Curing cancer sounds insane, but it's also a research problem, not a societal level coordination problem. And one AI has already proved to help with breakthroughs (alphafold). IMO it makes sense for them to shoot for something…

I don't think the problem is that people don't believe AI can be beneficial. The problem is the perception that AI will affect people's lives more negatively than positively, while a few get even more obscenely rich and powerful. If you don't tackle the societal level problems, nobody will care about research breakthroughs.

I don't see a lot of societal level problems other than the labor market, for which both Anthropic and OpenAI create research, monitoring, and policy advice.

I don't think anyone will care about the largely made up issues about electricity prices or water use in case AI literally cures cancer.

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#325

Post by stego-tech » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:14 PM UTC

That is an incredible amount of words to expend upon a position tantamount to “neener neener we won’t change a thing and you’re in the wrong for doubting us.”

I’d really appreciate it if folks stopped paying more attention to the bloviating or whinging of AI executives and instead focused exclusively on their actions, for therein lies the true nature of their goals or vision.

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#326

Post by nozzlegear » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:19 PM UTC

throwaway_7274 wrote: post #214

Just want to say, this comment section on this website would have been unthinkable a few years ago. It’s wild: all the engineers have developed class consciousness. I wonder how that happened? Anyway, it’s fun to watch, but remember to stay sane guys, be aware of the pendulum dynamics.

> be aware of the pendulum dynamics.

What do you mean?

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#327

Post by stellamariesays » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:20 PM UTC

kilpikaarna wrote: post #32

> I think it is fundamentally a crisis of trust. I think that ordinary people don’t trust companies, governments, or the tech industry and always suspect that we are cooking up some new way to screw them over. [...] > I don’t think that a glitzy marketing campaign with a positive spin (which some have advocated that Anthropic do) is the way to win back that trust — at this point, saying that AI will cure cancer is mo…

[flagged]

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#328

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:20 PM UTC

throwaway_7274 wrote: post #223

raincole wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder how that happened Layoff.

Rhetorically wondering :)

Unfortunately it is not just the engineers that get laid off. Try finding a job as a translator, a copy writer or some other entry or mid level service economy kind of job.

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#329

Post by sumeno » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:21 PM UTC

dist-epoch wrote: post #247

mhaberl wrote: post #213

> We are however doing our best to fix this: Anthropic is ramping up its efforts very quickly in biology and medicine, and we hope to have incredible results in the coming years and some early glimmers in the coming months. When we’ve actually accomplished something real, the whole world will hear about it, as loudly as possible, you have my word on that. 1. He is giving his word that if he cures cancer, he will brag…

> is that planned for a few days before the IPO Anthropic is the fastest revenue growing company in the history of Capitalism. I don't think they need any more marketing for investors.

> Anthropic is the fastest revenue growing company in the history of Capitalism. I don't think they need any more marketing for investors.

and people say advertising doesn't work

Re: On AI regulation and messaging

#330

Post by noahbp » Mon, Aug 17, 2026, 2:23 PM UTC

7373737373 wrote: post #109

mindwok wrote: post #74

I genuinely think Dario is a well intentioned, intelligent dude, but I think him and Anthropic have a huge PR problem and are really out of touch with how they're perceived. Anthropic in particular has developed this almost Orwellian like veil of condescending rhetoric that on the surface suggests they're looking out for you while underneath they're taking actions that suggest they do not trust you, Mr/Mrs Ordinary P…

And maybe don't allow the military to use your AI WHEN YOU CAN'T TELL WHETHER IT WAS INVOLVED IN THE KILLING OF HUNDREDS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN

They had a near-monopoly on AI-usage by the US military, then had a very public fallout because they refused to allow it to be used for autonomous weapons and mass-surveillance which their main competitor (OpenAI) publicly undermined by immediately signing an unlimited-use agreement, and now they also get flack for this incident they had no control over, because the US military decided to smear them after this fallout?