Google DeepMind C.E.O. Demis Hassabis on the Path From Chatbots to A.G.I.
Update: 2024-02-238
Description
This week’s episode is a conversation with Demis Hassabis, the head of Google’s artificial intelligence division. We talk about Google’s latest A.I. models, Gemini and Gemma; the existential risks of artificial intelligence; his timelines for artificial general intelligence; and what he thinks the world will look like post-A.G.I.
Additional listening and reading:
- A.I. Could Solve Some of Humanity’s Hardest Problems. It Already Has.
- This interview was recorded on Wednesday. Since then, Google has temporarily suspended Gemini’s ability to generate images of humans, following criticism of images the chatbot generated of people of color in Nazi-era uniforms.
- Google Is Giving Away Some of the A.I. That Powers Chatbots
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The guest came across to me as having quite a bit of artificial intelligence himself. The answers were generally pseudo-precise, mealy-mouthed, meandering, off-topic, non-committal, optimistic, and uninformative. E.g., when asked about tge best business models for commercial AI development, he blathered about how great science is. It's an indictment of our culture and society that we reliably select for bullshitters.