The story behind the cartoon
Silicon Valley has promised that artificial intelligence could cure most human disease within a decade, including Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei's September post that it might be possible in about five to ten years.
Drug-company executives told the Wall Street Journal they do not buy it: Vertex executive chairman Jeff Leiden called the claim complete nonsense, saying he had tried about 50 AI drug companies and not one managed to generate a working drug, while AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said biology is too complicated to simply declare a cure for cancer.
No drug designed by artificial intelligence has won clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration, the Journal reported, even as McKinsey data cited in the piece put global investment into AI drug discovery at $8.4 billion in 2025 alone, up from roughly $4 billion two years earlier.
The joke is the miracle that has not arrived: a triumphant robot presenter holds up one giant glowing cure-all pill while an unimpressed pharma chief stands beside a bin full of failed attempts — 50 AI drug companies in, zero working drugs out.
ONE MORE BOND
LOOP-ECTOMY
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THE SIXTH WINDOW