Google DeepMind on what’s next for Gemini, AGI, self-awareness

60 Minutes interviewed Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on “what’s next for AI,” with a hint about where Gemini is going.

The interview shows more of the Project Astra app that is currently available to trusted testers. Of note was a greeting from Astra to start things off: “Hello, Scott. It’s nice to see you again.” Gemini Live does not currently have that, with that internal version having more of a memory. (Specifically, it remembers key details from previous conversations for better context and personalization. There’s also a “10-minute memory” of the current conversation. These capabilities will presumably make their way to Gemini Live.)

There’s also a brief demo of Astra on smart glasses.

Looking ahead, Google DeepMind is “training its AI model called Gemini to not just reveal the world but to act in it like booking tickets and shopping online.” This sounds like Project Mariner, which Sundar Pichai previously said was coming to Gemini this year. 

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Hassabis reiterates that he believes artificial general intelligence (AGI) is 5-10 years away. When asked by 60 Minutes what that will look like in 2030, he says:

… we’ll have a system that– really understands everything around you in very– nuanced and deep ways– and are kind of embedded in your everyday life.

During the interview, Hassabis was asked if Google DeepMind is “working on a system today that would be self-aware.” 

I don’t think any of today’s systems to me feel self-aware or, you know, conscious in any way. Obviously, everyone needs to make their own decisions by interacting with these chatbots. I think theoretically it’s possible. 

When asked if “self-awareness a goal of yours,” he says “not explicitly”: 

But it may happen implicitly. These systems might acquire some feeling of self-awareness. That is possible. I think it’s important for these systems to understand you, self and other. And that’s probably the beginning of something like self-awareness.

I think there’s two reasons we regard each other as conscious. One is that you’re exhibiting the behavior of a conscious being very similar to my behavior. But the second thing is you’re running on the same substrate. We’re made of the same carbon matter with our squishy brains. Now obviously with machines, they’re running on silicon. So even if they exhibit the same behaviors, and even if they say the same things, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this sensation of consciousness that we have is the same thing they will have.