That is a key reason for the global Al safety summit convened by Rishi Sunak next week in Bletchley Park, the base of the visionary codebreakers who deciphered German communications during the second world war.
"I am not in the pessimistic camp about Al obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be working on it," Hassabis tells the Guardian in an interview at Google DeepMind's base in King's Cross, London. "But I'm not in the 'there's nothing to see here and nothing to worry about' [camp]. It's a middle way. This can go well, but we've got to be active about shaping that."
Hassabis, a 47-year-old Briton, co-founded UK company DeepMind in 2010. It was bought by Google in 2014 and has achieved stunning breakthroughs in AI under his leadership. The company is now known as Google DeepMind after merging with the search firm's other Al operations.
Hassabis's unit is behind the AlphaFold program, which predicts the 3D shapes of proteins in the human body. This revolutionary achievement maps out the biological building blocks of life and will help achieve breakthroughs in areas such as discovering new medicines. This year, Hassabis was jointly awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in science, the Lasker basic medical research award, for work on AlphaFold. Last month Hassabis's team released AlphaMissense, which uses the same Al program to spot protein malformations that could cause disease.
Hassabis says he would have preferred the May statement to contain references to AI's potential benefits. "I would have had a line saying about all the incredible opportunities that Al is going to bring: medicine, science, all the things help in everyday life, assisting in everyday life."
He concedes that AI advances will trigger "disruption" in the jobs market - skilled professions such as law, medicine and finance are at risk, according to experts - but he says the impact will be "positive overall" as the economy adapts.
Denne historien er fra October 25, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra October 25, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Bajrami and McCausland to the fore as Rangers seal impressive victory
Rangers made a storming start to their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 win over Malmö in Sweden that should have been even more emphatic. Nedim Bajrami scored his first goal for the Ibrox club in less than a minute and Philippe Clement's side passed up several chances to add a second before the interval.
Thames credit ratings cut to lower levels of junk as default fears grow
Thames Water's debt rating has been slashed to the lower levels of junk by two major credit rating agencies, piling further pressure on the UK's biggest water company, which is rapidly running through cash and fighting to stave off renationalisation.
Austria Fears rise over prospect of far-right election win
After topping the Austrian poll in June's EU elections, the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) seized the moment, calling for the appointment of an EU \"remigration\" commissioner to be tasked with the forced return of migrants and citizens with a migration background to their countries of origin.
'Cold and direct' Fayed's security chief accused of facilitating abuse
It was May 1991 and Mohamed AI Fayed was in a foul mood. \"I told you, no sex with anybody else, no relationship with anybody else,\" he ranted.
Allegations made over tycoon's years at Fulham FC
Sexual assault allegations have been made relating to Mohamed AI Fayed's 16 years of ownership of Fulham Football Club, lawyers representing his accusers have said.
'No sane people are going' Leadership race casts pall over Tory conference
On Tuesday, four candidates will make their pitches to lead the Conservative party from a conference stage in Birmingham. Their immediate challenge after the Tory rout this summer will be to reinvigorate demoralised MPs and members.
Pandemic as deadly as Covid-19 'a certainty', says Whitty
Another pandemic as big as the Covid crisis that killed 7 million people worldwide was \"a certainty\", Prof Sir Chris Whitty warned yesterday, as he said the UK's lack of intensive care capacity for the sickest patients was a \"political choice\".
Naomi Campbell banned as charity trustee for five years
Naomi Campbell has been banned from being a charity trustee after a watchdog investigation uncovered widespread evidence of financial misconduct at the poverty relief charity she founded.
Family haunted by last moments of teenager killed by 12-year-olds
The family of a man killed by the UK's youngest knife murderers have said they are haunted by thoughts of his last moments and \"how scared he must have been\".
London rail stations to be shut for up to eight days over festive period
Some of London's main railway stations will be closed and train services diverted at Christmas time, Network Rail has said.
