In a recent interview with The Financial Times, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassibis drew a striking comparison between the frothiness surrounding the AI gold rush and the high-dollar funding race that characterized the crypto industry. Hassibis cautioned that the billions of dollars flowing into AI companies and projects have brought with them “a bunch of hype and maybe some grifting and some other things that you see in other hyped-up areas, crypto or whatever.”
Hassibis’ concerns are not unfounded. As the AI industry continues to experience explosive growth, the potential for unscrupulous actors to take advantage of the hype and capitalize on the frenzy is a real risk. The CEO argued that this overexcitement around AI may be distracting from the genuine, groundbreaking innovations happening across the industry, stating that “it clouds the science and the research, which is phenomenal.”
Given the financial devastation wrought by the crypto crash, Hassibis’ warning is particularly salient. Experts have already begun to speculate about the possibility of an AI bubble looming on the horizon. As this bubble swells, the DeepMind CEO appears to be positioning himself as a voice of reason, urging caution and a focus on the substantive progress being made, rather than the hype and grift.
Hassibis’ perspective is likely informed by DeepMind’s own impressive track record in the AI field. Founded in 2010, the company has made significant contributions, including the historic success of AlphaGo in 2016 and the game-changing unveiling of AlphaFold in 2021. While text and image-generating AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT may be dominating the public conversation, Hassibis reminds us that AI is a diverse field with many innovative applications, from assisting quadriplegic patients to aiding in scientific and medical discovery. As the AI industry continues to evolve, Hassibis’ caution serves as a timely reminder to separate the substance from the sizzle.
