Demis Hassabis, the co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, was on 60 Minutes. He is at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation. A former chess prodigy with a PhD in neuroscience, Hassabis was recently awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on AI models that decipher protein structures, and was knighted by King Charles. His lifelong fascination with understanding reality and consciousness has driven his pursuit to build AI as a tool to advance human knowledge.
“It’s moving incredibly fast. I think we are on some kind of exponential curve of improvement. Of course, the success of the field in the last few years has attracted even more attention, more resources, more talent. So that’s adding to the to this exponential progress,” said Hassabis.
Over the past few years, AI development has accelerated rapidly, with systems like Project Astra showcasing remarkable capabilities. Astra can interpret images, understand context, and engage in lifelike conversation. Unlike earlier chatbots, it doesn’t just process internet data—it perceives the world, reason through ambiguity, and even displays emotional nuance. These systems are precursors to a broader goal: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—AI with human-level flexibility, reasoning, and awareness.
Hassabis predicts AGI could arrive within five to ten years, potentially by 2030. DeepMind’s upcoming AI model, Gemini, is being trained not just to understand the world, but to act in it—like booking tickets or performing tasks autonomously. In the coming years, AI may evolve to display creativity, curiosity, and even something akin to self-awareness, though Hassabis notes that today’s systems don’t yet possess these traits.
While the promise of AI includes breakthroughs like faster drug development and even the end of disease, Hassabis is equally focused on the risks. These include misuse by bad actors and the challenge of keeping powerful AI systems aligned with human values. He advocates for building robust “guardrails” and calls for international cooperation to ensure AI development benefits all of humanity.
Read and watch more here — https://www.cbsnews.com/news/artificial-intelligence-google-deepmind-ceo-demis-hassabis-60-minutes-transcript/
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