Google's top AI scientist says ālearning how to learnā will be next generation's most needed skill
A top Google scientist and 2024 Nobel laureate said Friday that the most important skill for the next generation will be ālearning how to learnā to keep pace with change as artificial intelligence transforms education and the workplace.
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Speaking at an ancient Roman theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Googleās DeepMind, said rapid technological change demands a new approach to learning and skill development.
āItās very hard to predict the future, like 10 years from now, in normal cases. Itās even harder today, given how fast AI is changing, even week by week,ā Hassabis told the audience. āThe only thing you can say for certain is that huge change is coming.ā
The neuroscientist and former chess prodigy said ā a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can ā could arrive within a decade. This, he said, will bring dramatic advances and a possible future of āradical abundanceā despite acknowledged risks.
Hassabis emphasized the need for āmeta-skills,ā such as understanding how to learn and optimizing oneās approach to new subjects, alongside traditional disciplines like math, science and humanities.
āOne thing weāll know for sure is youāre going to have to continually learn ... throughout your career,ā he said.
The DeepMind co-founder, who established the London-based research lab in 2010 before Google acquired it four years later, in chemistry for developing AI systems that accurately predict protein folding ā a breakthrough for medicine and drug discovery.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined Hassabis at the Athens event after discussing ways to expand AI use in government services. Mitsotakis warned that the continued growth of huge tech companies could create great global financial inequality.
āUnless people actually see benefits, personal benefits, to this (AI) revolution, they will tend to become very skeptical," he said. "And if they see ... obscene wealth being created within very few companies, this is a recipe for significant social unrest.ā
Mitsotakis thanked Hassabis, whose father is Greek Cypriot, for rescheduling the presentation to avoid conflicting with the European basketball championship semifinal between Greece and Turkey. Greece later lost the game 94-68.
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Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this story.