Daron Acemoglu argues that while AI's potential for drug discovery is often used to justify massive investments, the evidence shows AI has delivered little so far—and redirecting some of that money toward proven public health interventions would do far more to improve American life expectancy.

• AI has produced minimal gains in actual drug discovery despite significant effort. A recent paper found that while AlphaFold predicted protein structures, there's "no evidence so far that more applied, early-stage drug development is targeting these proteins."
• The US has the lowest life expectancy among wealthy nations (about 5 years behind Switzerland, Sweden, Japan), mostly from preventable deaths before age 70 due to chronic disease, overdoses, and poor public health—not lack of new drugs.
• The US spends far more on healthcare than peer countries but too little on public health (preventive care, nutrition, immunization, primary care access), suggesting reallocating AI investment toward these proven interventions would yield better health outcomes.