The article also touches on the competition between Google and OpenAI in the field of AI, with OpenAI's ChatGPT becoming the fastest growing consumer product in history. In response, Google combined its Google Brain and DeepMind teams under the Google DeepMind banner with Hassabis at the helm. Despite the challenges, Hassabis remains optimistic about the future of AI and its potential to disrupt many industries. He also dismisses rumors about him potentially becoming the next CEO of Google, stating that his passion lies in research and science.
Key takeaways:
- Demis Hassabis, the founder of DeepMind, is now leading Google's entire AI research effort after the company absorbed Google Brain last summer. His task is to translate breakthroughs into tangible product improvements for Google, which is seeking a way forward in an increasingly AI-dominated world.
- DeepMind has made significant strides in AI, such as cracking a seemingly impossible board game with AlphaGo, decoding protein with AlphaFold, and laying the groundwork for synthesizing thousands of new materials. However, questions about Google's ability to win the AI race have clouded its recent success.
- Google's rival, OpenAI, has been successful with its generative 'large language' models, which have become extremely powerful. DeepMind initially did not take these models seriously, which led to Google falling behind in this area.
- Hassabis believes that AI agents, which can take action on their own, are the future of AI. He suggests that these agents could be used to do things for users, such as booking holidays or restaurants. However, to be successful, Hassabis will need to navigate Google's bureaucracy and convince the company to push his advances into production.