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Demis Hassabis on AI

9 quotes from Demis Hassabis on the wall, 2023 to 2026, newest first. Each one is verbatim and links to where it was said. Sources include CNBC, The Stanford Daily, bigtechnology.com. Topics: safety, culture, hype. Open on the wall.

1. 2026

2. Species-level transition

   News29 May 2026The Stanford Daily#hype#safety

   Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind CEO, speaking at Stanford GSB in May 2026 about the pace of AI progress.

   Google DeepMind CEO warns AI is at “species-level transition” - stanforddaily.com

3. I don't think AGI should be turned into a marketing term for commercial gain

   News29 January 2026bigtechnology.com#hype#culture

   Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, speaking at a Big Technology Podcast recording in Davos, January 2026, responding to Sam Altman's comments that the world has moved past AGI toward superintelligence.

   Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on AI’s Next Breakthroughs, What Counts As AGI, And Google’s AI Glasses Bet - Big Technology | Alex Kantrowitz

4. It's a ferocious competitive environment at the moment

   News16 January 2026CNBC#culture#money

   Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, speaking on CNBC's The Tech Download podcast in January 2026 about competition in AI.

   DeepMind, Google CEOs talk 'every day' amid 'ferocious' AI competition

5. 2025

6. Yann is just plain incorrect here

   News22 December 2025Demis Hassabis (X)#science#culture

   Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis responded on X to Yann LeCun's comments on general intelligence, December 2025.

   Demis Hassabis on X

7. It's almost like the cavalry, i think we need the cavalry today

   News27 April 2025TIME#hype#culture

   Demis Hassabis, in a 2025 TIME interview, describing why he believes AI is urgently needed to address global problems.

   Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis on AI in the Military and What AGI Could Mean for Humanity - time.com

8. 2024

9. The brain is an existence proof that general intelligence is possible at all

   News28 February 2024dwarkesh.com#science

   Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, discussing neuroscience and AI on the Dwarkesh Podcast, February 2024.

   Demis Hassabis — Scaling, superhuman AIs, AlphaZero atop LLMs, AlphaFold

10. 2023

11. I don't think we want to be doing this on the eve of some of these dangerous things happening

    News31 October 2023CNBC#safety#politics

    Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, speaking to CNBC in October 2023 ahead of the UK AI Safety Summit about the need to start regulating advanced AI early.

    Google DeepMind boss hits back at Meta AI chief over ‘fearmongering’ claim

12. We can't afford the same delay with AI

    News24 October 2023The Guardian#safety#politics

    Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind, in an interview with The Guardian, October 2023, comparing AI risk to climate change.

    AI risk must be treated as seriously as climate crisis, says Google DeepMind chief

13. I would advocate not moving fast and breaking things

    News28 April 2023Fortune#safety

    Demis Hassabis, on becoming head of the newly merged Google DeepMind, quoted in Fortune's Eye on AI newsletter, April 2023, regarding the pace of AI development.

    The Google Brain-DeepMind merger is good for Google. It might not be for us