Google's AI genius said there could be an 'epochal event' that makes robots way more productive (GOOG)

pulse

July 17, 2017 11:51 AM

DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said AI could have a far greater impact on jobs that the industrial revolution and the internet.

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.

Demis Hassabis, the cofounder and CEO of Google DeepMind, said there could be an "epochal event" that causes artificial intelligence (AI) to have a far greater impact on jobs that the industrial revolution.

Increasingly sophisticated algorithms are set to take millions of jobs that have traditionally been done by humans, from driving taxis to performing medical operations. The World Economic Forum (WEF) warned last January that robots, automation, and AI will replace 5 million human jobs by 2020.

Hassabis said at a talk in London this month that the true impact of AI on jobs "isn't clear yet." Speaking to an audience of entrepreneurs at Google Campus at the end of last month, Hassabis said:

Hassabis's company, which was acquired by Google in January 2014 for a reported £400 million, is arguably leading the AI race.

Last October, author Nick Bostrom said that DeepMind is winning the race to develop human-level AI. The company, which employs approximately 400 people in King's Cross, is perhaps best known for developing an AI agent that defeated the world champion of the ancient Chinese board, Go. However, it's also applying its AI to other areas, including healthcare and energy management.

Machines will quickly become significantly smarter than humans when they achieve human level intelligence, Hassabis and several other AI leaders said in a YouTube video published in January.

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