You say it as a joke but I've been interviewing web and software developers for the past couple days to develop new tools to interact with data generated by a method our group has developed that combines next generation RNA sequencing with fluorescent in situ hybridization. Cancer biology is an obvious application. So yes, developers can help cure cancer. They don't understand the biology - that's my job. But I, and many other scientists, don't understand software/web development, so we rely on others to create the tools that enable our work. Not only are these efforts resistant to others coming in and stealing the idea, they can enrich the developers (financially), and they enrich society.

Sorry for being so nasty above, but there's a lot of wasted talent in silicon valley developing technology that allows teenagers to post dick pics while still spouting pious claims of social benefit. The arguments resemble the business plans... we do good like we make money, because people use us, right?