AI’s Health Revolution: DeepMind CEO Envisions End Of All Disease Within A Decade
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis also spoke about the scale and speed at which AI is transforming science.
Imagine a world where no disease exists — Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis believes we might be closer to that future than we think. In a recent appearance on CBS’ 60 Minutes, Hassabis boldly claimed that artificial intelligence could pave the way for curing all diseases within the next ten years. His optimism stems from how AI is drastically accelerating drug discovery and biomedical research.
“So on average, it takes, you know, ten years and billions of dollars to design just one drug. We can maybe reduce that down from years to maybe months or maybe even weeks,” Hassabis said. “Which sounds incredible today, but that's also what people used to think about protein structures. And it would revolutionise human health, and I think one day maybe we can cure all diseases with the help of AI.”
The 48-year-old British scientist didn’t stop there. When asked directly if AI could truly eliminate all diseases, Hassabis confidently responded, “I think that's within reach. Maybe within the next decade or so, I don't see why not.”
Praise From A Surprising Source
While bold predictions often attract skepticism, this one earned praise from an unlikely corner. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI — an emerging rival to Google in the AI space — backed Hassabis' vision. Reacting to the interview clip on X (formerly Twitter), Srinivas wrote, “Demis is a genius and he should be given all resources in the world to make this happen.”
Srinivas’ endorsement is noteworthy considering Perplexity AI is developing an AI-powered search engine that directly challenges Google’s dominance. The startup is also reportedly working on an innovative browser, aiming to rival Google Chrome.
A Billion Years Of PhD Time In Just One
Hassabis also spoke to Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, about the scale and speed at which AI is transforming science. Using DeepMind’s AlphaFold technology, researchers managed to predict the structure of 200 million proteins in just one year — a feat that, by human standards, would take eons.
“So we did a billion years of PhD time in one year,” Hassabis said. “That used to take a PhD student, their entire PhD, as a rule of thumb, to discover one protein structure. So, four or five years, and there's two hundred million proteins known to science, and we folded them all in one year.”
Understanding protein structures, he added, is critical to diagnosing diseases and developing effective drugs. “If we know the function, then we can understand what goes wrong in disease. And we can design drugs and molecules that will bind to the right part of the surface of the protein, if you know this structure. So it's a fascinating problem.”
A Glimpse Into The Future
While skeptics may call it ambitious, Hassabis’ vision represents a growing belief in AI’s transformative potential in healthcare. With tech leaders like Srinivas showing cross-industry support, the dream of an AI-driven medical revolution might be inching closer to reality. The question now is: can technology deliver on the promise of a disease-free world?
Top Headlines
