Key Takeaways
- Google DeepMind’s CEO, Demis Hassabis, believes AI will significantly disrupt jobs but also create new, highly valuable roles.
- He anticipates AI’s impact will be greater than the Industrial Revolution, but remains optimistic about human adaptability.
- Studying STEM subjects is still recommended for a foundational understanding, alongside actively experimenting with new AI tools.
- Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), where AI matches or exceeds human intellect, could arrive around 2030.
AI is already changing the way we work, and Google DeepMind’s CEO, Demis Hassabis, expects this disruption to pave the way for new and “very valuable” job opportunities.
Speaking at SXSW London, Hassabis predicted that artificial intelligence will bring about a transformation larger than the Industrial Revolution. He remains optimistic, however, highlighting that humans are “infinitely adaptable,” Business Insider reports.
“I think new jobs will appear, new very valuable jobs,” he stated. Hassabis anticipates that over the next five to ten years, AI will “supercharge sort of technically savvy people who are at the forefront of using these technologies.”
He also suggested that today’s children will grow up as “AI natives,” much like the previous generation became internet natives. Despite this digital immersion, Hassabis still advises students to focus on STEM subjects.
He emphasized it’s “still important to understand fundamentals” in fields like mathematics, physics, and computer science to grasp “how these systems are put together.”
Earlier, at Google’s I/O developer conference, Hassabis and Google co-founder Sergey Brin forecasted that AGI—the point at which AI reaches or surpasses human intelligence—could emerge around 2030.
But the job market is already feeling AI’s rapid transformation. Some companies are reportedly reducing hiring for roles that AI can perform, and tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Google are increasingly using AI to write code.
While stressing the value of STEM, Hassabis also encouraged people to gain hands-on experience with AI tools.
“I’d also be experimenting with all the latest AI systems and tools and seeing what’s the best way of utilising them,” he advised, suggesting people should embrace and “hack around with those tools” to find useful and novel applications.
