Azeem’s Picks: Demis Hassabis on DeepMind’s Journey from Games to Fundamental Science

Artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating the headlines, but it’s not a new topic here on Exponential View. This week and next, Azeem Azhar shares his favorite conversations with AI pioneers. Their work and insights are more relevant than ever.

Demis Hassabis, CEO and co-founder of DeepMind, dreams of using AI to solve fundamental problems in science. In 2020, he joined Azeem to explore his own journey from world champion gamer to neuroscientist to building AI systems that can train themselves to solve real-world engineering challenges and, eventually, make Nobel-prize winning discoveries.

In 2023, DeepMind’s parent company Alphabet announced consolidation of its biggest research units, DeepMind and Google Brain, into a new division led by Demis.

They also discuss:

• Why games are the perfect training ground for AI algorithms.

• How DeepMind combines the dynamism of a startup with the “blue sky” creativity of a lab.

• Why “deep reinforcement learning” is the basis for artificial intelligence systems.

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About Exponential View:
Welcome to Exponential View, where Azeem Azhar examines how exponential technologies such as AI are reshaping the future. Each week, Azeem shares his analysis or speaks with an expert guest to shed light on frontier shifts across technology, business and society.

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