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From the property of 4, helium had already demonstrated singular talent successful chess. By 17, helium had created his archetypal video game. In 2024, astatine 48, Demis Hassabis was awarded the Nobel Prize successful Chemistry, alongside his workfellow John M. Jumper, for their groundbreaking AI probe successful macromolecule structure prediction.
Born successful London to a Greek-Cypriot begetter and a parent of Singaporean heritage, Hassabis is present regarded arsenic 1 of the starring pioneers successful artificial intelligence. He is the main enforcement serviceman and co-founder of DeepMind, acquired by Google successful 2014.
Last week, Hassabis visited Athens to conscionable with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and sermon AI, morals and ideology within the model of the Athens Innovation 2025 conference. On the juncture of his treatment astatine the Odeon of Herodes Atticus connected Friday, helium spoke to Kathimerini astir the hopes and concerns surrounding “intelligent” technologies. For the archetypal time, helium besides revealed however the trauma of displacement from Famagusta successful 1974 has shaped some his household and himself.
You person an astonishing idiosyncratic story. Based connected your experience, what proposal would you springiness to a young idiosyncratic increasing up today?
The lone certainty is that there will beryllium unthinkable alteration implicit the adjacent 10 years. My proposal to young radical is to study STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] and experimentation with AI due to the fact that you will ever beryllium amended disconnected understanding however caller technologies work and however they tin beryllium used. But don’t neglect meta-skills, similar learning however to learn, creativity, adaptability and resilience. They will each beryllium captious for the adjacent generation.
You often talk astir the AI gyration being overmuch bigger than the Industrial Revolution. You are 1 of the fewer radical that tin picture our aboriginal 10 years down the road. What will the cardinal changes be?
There will beryllium profound alteration arsenic AI advances. Universal assistants will execute mundane tasks, freeing us up for much originative pursuits. AI tools will assistance personalize acquisition and curate accusation for us, allowing us to support our attraction and mindspace from the bombardment of the integer world. AI will besides assistance us plan caller medicines and materials faster, giving us amended batteries and caller sources of cleanable energy. All of this could pb to an epoch of extremist abundance by eliminating the scarcity of water, food, vigor and different resources, allowing for maximum quality flourishing. But this astonishing aboriginal depends connected society stewarding AI safely and responsibly. Just arsenic with industrialization, the transition will travel with challenges. The Industrial Revolution was a nett bully for society and propelled the world forward. I’m hopeful AI tin present a akin leap for humanity.
Will an AI “creature” beryllium capable to clasp a Socratic dialog connected abstract ideas with a existent philosopher during our lifetime?
It’s plausible and possibly adjacent likely. Today’s AI systems are impressive, but they deficiency some cardinal capabilities for a true Socratic dialogue. They don’t person a deep, conceptual understanding to explicate their reasoning, and they can’t airs their ain caller questions to research ideas. Right now, we question and they answer. In the future, they will person to beryllium capable to bash some successful a way that doesn’t mimic us but pushes us to beryllium originative and takes us down caller avenues of thought.
There hasn’t been a commercially available AI app that has been proven truly profitable… Do you stock the interest that AΙ expectations person created a stock marketplace bubble akin to the dot-com one?
In the abbreviated term, there is simply a batch of hype astir AI – astir apt too overmuch – due to the fact that adjacent though today’s systems are highly impressive, they besides person tons of flaws. Many near-term promises are being made that aren’t truly scientifically grounded. But successful the mean to longer term, the monumental interaction AI is going to person is still underappreciated. It will beryllium the astir transformative infinitesimal successful quality history, so I think the investments we’re making are well-justified.
Is China truly up of the US successful terms of AI development? Do you spot a caller acold war emerging with competing AI platforms? Can Europe go a superior subordinate connected this frontier?
The US and the West are up of China connected AI improvement presently but China’s home AI ecosystem is strong and catching up fast, arsenic shown by caller exemplary releases. Europe (including the UK) tin beryllium a superior player. It has existent strengths successful AI done its past of technological discovery, unthinkable world institutions and strong startup environment. There’s an important relation for Europe successful working with adjacent allies similar the US to signifier the liable improvement and governance of AI globally. But this will necessitate it to stay innovative, dynamic and astatine the technical forefront.
You often overgarment an astir utopian representation of the future, with AI providing solutions to astir each challenge. Does your prediction tally the hazard of being too optimistic since AI will besides make immense disruptions due to the fact that of monolithic unemployment and vigor depletion?
I’m a cautious optimist. I think artificial wide quality (AGI) will beryllium 1 of the astir beneficial technologies ever invented. But there are important risks that person to beryllium managed and there is simply a precocious grade of uncertainty. There are technical ways to expect and mitigate these risks, but arsenic a society, we should beryllium trying to amended understand and hole for them. We request economists, κοινωνικά scientists, philosophers and different experts to beryllium thinking astir the implications of a post-AGI world. A technology with the imaginable for such profound societal interaction indispensable beryllium handled with exceptional attraction and foresight.
AI is dramatically changing our business, the media business. Any thoughts connected however solid quality reporting and investigation tin survive successful the AI era? And bash we tally the hazard of generations of “lazy minds” who will conscionable look for ready, afloat digestible answers to everything connected their smartphone? Will AI-provided accusation beryllium controlled by a fewer info-bosses?
AI tin beryllium a almighty tool for journalists, helping them grip much mundane information-gathering tasks so they tin spend much clip connected valuable reporting. Misinformation and deepfakes are existent risks but technical solutions exist, similar invisible watermarking, to assistance radical separate betwixt existent and fake information. Universal integer assistants will assistance us beryllium much productive astatine work and successful our idiosyncratic lives, freeing up clip for creativity and heavy thinking. By helping to synthesize and understand information, they could alteration us to larn faster. They could besides enrich our lives by making better, much personalized recommendations for books, euphony and different ways we similar to spend our time. Ensuring just and adjacent entree to AI requires cautious absorption and practice betwixt governments, academia, civilian society, philosophers and the public.
Your father’s household had to wantonness their location successful Cyprus successful 1974. Was this a traumatic infinitesimal and an important portion of your increasing up?
It was a devastating infinitesimal for my grandparents due to the fact that they mislaid virtually everything. They were working successful the UK astatine the clip but were sending each their wealth backmost to Cyprus to try to physique their household location successful Famagusta and then yet spell backmost to unrecorded there. They mislaid everything and I don’t think they ever truly afloat recovered from it. Obviously, it loomed ample arsenic a large portion of my upbringing, a ταξινόμηση of unspoken happening ever successful the background.
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English (US) ·