Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis’ advice to young professionals: ‘Learn how to…’

Google DeepMind CEOand a recent Nobel laureate, Demis Hassabis, has said that "learning how to learn" will be the most important skill for future generations. Speaking recently from an ancient Roman theatre in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he stated that the rapid pace of AI requires a new approach to education and skill development.

Hassabis warned that "huge change is coming," and it is "very hard to predict the future," especially as AI is changing "week by week." He further emphasized that "meta-skills," such as knowing how to learn and optimise one's approach to new subjects, will be essential throughout a person's career. Hassabis, who shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on protein folding with AI, also predicted that artificial general intelligence (AGI) could arrive within a decade.

What Demis Hassabis said about the most needed skill for next-generation

Talking to the audience (as reported by The Independent), Hassabis said: “It’s very hard to predict the future, like 10 years from now, in normal cases. It’s even harder today, given how fast AI is changing, even week by week. The only thing you can say for certain is that huge change is coming.”The neuroscientist and former chess prodigy has also predicted that artificial general intelligence (which is a future form of machines that match human-level intelligence or can perform a wide range of tasks as effectively as people) could emerge within the next decade.

He said this would lead to major breakthroughs and the potential for a future of “radical abundance,” though he acknowledged the risks involved. Hassabis even highlighted the importance of developing “meta-skills,” such as learning how to learn and improving approaches to new subjects, in addition to traditional areas like math, science, and the humanities.“One thing we’ll know for sure is you’re going to have to continually learn ... throughout your career,” he added.At the event, Hassabis and Mitsotakis also discussed expanding AI in government, while the Greek PM cautioned that the rise of major tech firms could worsen global economic inequality.“Unless people actually see benefits, personal benefits, to this (AI) revolution, they will tend to become very skeptical. And if they see ... obscene wealth being created within very few companies, this is a recipe for significant social unrest,” Mitsotakis noted.