Demis Hassabis is a British artificial intelligence researcher, neuroscientist, computer game designer, and entrepreneur, best known for co-founding DeepMind Technologies. Born on July 27, 1976, in London, Hassabis is of Greek-Cypriot and Singaporean descent. He has made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence, leading to the development of advanced AI systems capable of learning and making decisions.
Hassabis's journey into the realm of technology and games began early. He was a child prodigy in chess, reaching the rank of master by the age of 13. His passion for games led him to the video game industry, where he worked as a lead designer and programmer for the game "Theme Park" at Bullfrog Productions when he was just 17. This early exposure to game design and development sparked his interest in AI, as he sought to create more sophisticated and intelligent game characters.
He pursued higher education in computer science at the University of Cambridge, where he graduated in 1997. After Cambridge, Hassabis founded the video game company Elixir Studios, which developed several well-received titles. Despite the success in the gaming industry, he returned to academia to delve deeper into cognitive neuroscience, aiming to understand the human brain's mechanisms of learning and memory. He earned a PhD from University College London (UCL) in 2009, where his research focused on using brain imaging and testing to study amnesia and the imagination.
In 2010, together with Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman, Hassabis co-founded DeepMind Technologies. DeepMind's mission was to create artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI systems that can learn to solve any problem they are presented with, in a manner similar to human learning and reasoning. DeepMind quickly gained a reputation for its groundbreaking work in deep learning and reinforcement learning. The company's profile rose dramatically after its AI program, AlphaGo, defeated the world Go champion Lee Sedol in 2016, a feat that marked a significant milestone in AI research.
Google acquired DeepMind in 2014 for a reported £400 million, although Hassabis and his co-founders continued to lead the company under Google's ownership. Under his leadership, DeepMind has continued to push the boundaries of AI, with notable achievements in areas such as protein folding with AlphaFold and contributions to various fields through AI research.
Hassabis's work has earned him numerous accolades and recognition in the scientific and tech communities. He has been named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world and has received various awards for his contributions to technology and science. Through DeepMind, Hassabis continues to explore the potential of AI to solve complex problems and advance human understanding in various domains.