New Delhi, February 19 Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on Thursday termed AI as the ultimate tool for accelerating scientific discovery, and a force multiplier for human ingenuity.
Speaking at the India AI Summit, he described artificial intelligence as one of the most transformative technologies in human history and emphasised that the world is approaching a decisive moment in its development. With the advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) now, the moment has to be navigated very carefully, and thoughtfully, Hassabis said, adding "and if we do so, I'm very optimistic that we'll usher in a great new era".
He advocated that a scientific method be adopted to understand the full capabilities of AGI, build good guardrails and monitoring systems – an approach he believes will help unlock the full potential of technology for the benefit of humans. Hassabis also called for a "bold" approach to grasp new opportunities for advancing science and medicine, improve human health and the living condition that "society and the globe badly needs".
Hassabis said he has always been of firm belief that AI would be one of the most important and beneficial technologies ever invented.
"And I always felt that AI would be the ultimate tool for accelerating scientific discovery and being a force multiplier for human ingenuity," he said.
Hassabis recounted how from a very young age, he has been obsessed with the questions of science, the nature of reality, the nature of consciousness, and the deep mysteries of the universe.
"And I think AI can help us find answers to these questions that we pondered over for thousands of years," he said.
That journey, he said, has already started with systems like `Alpha Fold' built to solve the 50 year grand challenge of protein folding.
"And we hope that this will just be the first example of amazing advances in science and medicine that have been enabled by AI, and we and others are working on many other branches of science now to bring AI tools to help advance material science, fusion physics and mathematics," he said.
Almost every branch of science and medicine will be touched and transformed by AI.
In 2026, the world is at another threshold moment with AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) on the horizon, and approaching "maybe within the next five years".
Hassabis outlined the transformative outcomes that could accrue from this, but struck a note of caution.
"...and we're seeing these general purpose systems, foundational model systems, becoming increasingly capable almost week by week. So this is obviously an amazing opportunity that we should all grasp economic and productivity, as well as in the sciences, but it's also something that we have to approach with humility and understanding that we don't have all the answers yet as to how this technology is going to develop and be deployed into the world," according to him.
Hassabis said he is "really impressed" with all that he sees in India, as he outlined the significant research footprint that Google and DeepMind have in Bengaluru, he said.
The India hub is involved in some really critical research that are then brought to Google products and technologies around the world in the areas like efficient models, continual learning and multilingual capabilities.
Hassabis said he was impressed with the students and faculty at Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore during his talk at the premier institute, and lauded the "incredibly impressive" energy around the country.
"It's incredibly impressive to see the energy around the country, and I think that India will indeed be a powerhouse for AI across the globe," he said.
On AGI, he said this will be one of the most momentous periods in human history, and likened it to the advent of fire or electricity.
"So really, this enormous amount of change is going to come and it's still to be written how we can make that beneficial for the whole world," he advocated that a scientific method be followed to understand the AGI's full capabilities, build good guardrails and monitoring systems.
"...and understand more deeply what these systems are capable of, and how we can make sure that they serve the purposes that we want. And then, of course, simultaneously, we also have to be bold to grasp these new opportunities to advance science and medicine and to improve human health and the human condition that society and the globe badly needs," he said.
