Google DeepMind CEO: AI May Cure All Diseases Soon

Prime Highlights

AI might end all diseases in the coming decade, opines Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, pointing to the potential of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas shares this vision and stresses democratizing AI tools to make global research accessible.

Key Facts

Hassabis predicts AGI creation in 5–10 years, requiring only a handful of breakthroughs.
DeepMind’s AlphaFold already demonstrates AI prowess in drug discovery.
Srinivas advocates unrestricted access to AI tools such as Perplexity Pro for Indian scholars.

Key Background

During a visionary remark at The Times Tech Summit, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis hinted that all diseases might be cured in a decade with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). This ambitious prediction is predicated on the advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a superior and versatile version of AI that can learn and understand any mental task humans are able to do. In Hassabis’s opinion, the way to AGI is not far off, taking only two or three fundamental innovations.

DeepMind’s efforts with AlphaFold, which is a tool that accurately predicts protein structures, are an exemplary starting point for how AI is transforming healthcare already. This technology is invaluable in drug development, cancer studies, and the creation of antibiotics. AlphaFold’s achievement illustrates how AI can solve very difficult biological challenges that would be decades out of reach for human brains.

While the promise of AI in healthcare is exciting, Hassabis maintains a cautious perspective. He argues against both extreme optimism and unwarranted fear. He believes that AI, while powerful, is not an existential risk if managed wisely. Instead, he calls for thoughtful development and governance, comparing AI’s potential impact to a paradigm shift greater than the internet or mobile technology.

Seconding Hassabis’s views, Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas underlined the need to make AI tools more accessible, especially in developing nations. At the same summit, Srinivas suggested providing free access to Perplexity Pro—an AI-based answer engine—to Indian students and researchers. The suggestion comes on the heels of India’s recent move to provide free access to more than 13,000 scholarly journals to accelerate scientific advancement.

Both leaders emphasize that the future of medicine, research, and scientific progress might dramatically be expedited by AI. Still, this advance should be accompanied by ethical thinking and concerted global actions to make these tools available to all of humanity.