What’s next for artificial intelligence? Possibly, crafting “The End of Disease.” Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is confident that AI is on track to understanding the world beyond measure, especially considering “It’s moving incredibly fast.”
Sitting down for an interview on ’60 Minutes,’ the Nobel Prize (chemistry) recipient, who according to CBS News “may hold the cards to our future,” said that they’re possibly “on some kind of exponential curve of improvement.”
“Of course, the success of the field in the last few years has attracted even more attention, more resources, more talent. So that’s adding to the, to this exponential progress,” he added. The tech visionary already believes that AI is on its path to potentially developing a sense of imagination. With the technology developing at a pace beyond comprehension, Demis Hassabis seemed confident that one of benefits we could reap from AI’s advancement is the end of disease.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis predicts ‘End of Disease’
The early pioneer of AI predicted that the same could be achieved in the next 10 years. “So on average, it takes, you know, 10 years and billions of dollars to design just one drug,” he said. “We can maybe reduce that down from years to maybe months or maybe even weeks.”
“…sounds incredible today but that’s also what people used to think about protein structures. It would revolutionise human health, and I think one day, maybe we can cure all disease with the help of AI.” When asked if he was hinting at the potential large-scale “End of Disease,” Demis added, “I think that’s within reach, maybe within the next decade or so, I don’t see why not.”
The AI powerhouse DeepMind co-founder told CBS News’ Scott Pelley that AI could result in “radical abundance,” eliminating scarcity. However, his optimism didn’t come without the fear of risk. “There’s two worries that I worry about. One is that bad actors, humans you know, users of these systems repurpose these systems for harmful ends,” he began.
“And then the second thing is the AI systems themselves as they become more autonomous and more powerful. Can we make sure that– we can keep control of the systems? That they’re aligned with our values, they– they’re doing what we want that benefits society. And they stay on guardrails.”
Thanks Aravind!
— Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) April 22, 2025
Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas praises Demis Hassabis’ AI vision
Perplexity AI founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas reacted to Hassabis’ interview by stating the obvious: hailing him a “genius.” On Monday night (IST), the Indian-origin chief shared a snippet of the Google DeepMind pioneer’s ’60 Minutes’ interview on X, formerly Twitter, proclaiming, “He should be given all resources in the world to make this happen.”
Hassabis ultimately took note of the praise and replied back, “Thanks Aravind!” The Nobel Laureate also posted the YouTube link to his interaction with CBS’ Scott Pelley. “I’ve always believed AI could be the ultimate tool to help us advance scientific progress and better understand the universe around us, and perhaps one day even solve all disease,” he tweeted online.
Had a really great chat with Scott Pelley @60Minutes about AI & its future. I’ve always believed AI could be the ultimate tool to help us advance scientific progress and better understand the universe around us, and perhaps one day even solve all disease: https://t.co/sbQZHbpVVZ
— Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) April 22, 2025