Demis Hassabis Predicts AGI Will Have 10x The Impact Of The Industrial Revolution — And It Will Happen In A Decade, Not A Century
THURSDAY, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said artificial general intelligence could reshape the world faster than any previous technological change – if managed responsibly.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Hassabis said AGI could trigger one of the most important eras in human history, comparing its potential impact to the discovery of fire and the invention of electricity.
“If I were to try to quantify what will happen with the advent of AGI,” Hassabis said, “it will have about ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution, but will happen at ten times the speed – probably taking place within a decade rather than a century.”
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He described the pace of progress in advanced AI systems as accelerating rapidly, with increasingly capable core models rapidly emerging.
The DeepMind CEO also reiterated his previous prediction, saying that the year 2026 marks another pivotal moment for AI, with AGI potentially arriving within the next five years.
Last year, the co-founder of Google Sergey Brine said he believed AGI would arrive before 2030, while Hassabis expected it to emerge shortly after 2030.
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Despite his optimism, Hassabis stressed that such transformative power requires caution and rigorous monitoring.
“We have to try to handle this situation very carefully,” he said, emphasizing the need for a scientific approach to understanding the capabilities and risks of AI.
He called for strong safeguards and monitoring systems to be put in place to ensure that advanced AI systems serve human goals.
Hassabis also said the responsibility for shaping the future of AI should extend beyond technologists to include governments, scientists, artists and philosophers.
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