Google DeepMind's CEO says Gemini's upgrades could lead to AGI — but he still thinks society isn't "ready for it"

Google just held its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California, where it made an array of announcements (via Android Central), including new products and advanced AI capabilities for its Gemini models.

Interestingly, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis claims the new capabilities that just shipped to Google's Gemini AI models will lead the path to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) (via WIRED).

Some of these new capabilities and features include "Deep Think" for Google's Gemini Pro model, which will allow it to think harder for complex queries. It essentially allows the AI model to break down more complex problems, allowing it to critically analyze situations closer to how a human would.

Google also launched "Mariner", an AI agent for its Chrome browser with the ability to scour the web and handle simple tasks like shopping when prompted. It's currently in research preview and is available under Google's new subscription plan — Google AI Ultra for $250/month (via Android Central).

Gemini models now ship with better reasoning and world-modeling capabilities that will help develop more capable AI assistants and humanoid robots. As such, it would likely only be a matter of time before AI scales greater heights to become "smarter" than humans.

During Google's developer conference, the executive showcased experimental next-gen AI capabilities that depict the company's vision for generative AI in the future, which goes beyond chatbots. While speaking to WIRED, Hassabis indicated:

“The way we've ended up working with today's chatbots is, I think, a transitory period.”

In the past few months, there have been speculations about the timeline within which AGI would be achieved. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman indicated that he is confident that his team knows how to develop AGI as the company shifted its focus to superintelligence.

Altman predicts that the coveted benchmark would be achieved within 5 years. However, the executive also claimed that the milestone would whoosh by with surprisingly little societal impact.

While this remains to be seen, especially since everyone seems to have a different definition for what AGI means, DeepMind's CEO claims it will still be achieved. "But it's not tomorrow or next year," added Hassabis.

Demis Hassabis indicated that AGI would be achieved within the next decade. However, he claimed that society isn't ready to handle all that it entails, which keeps him awake most nights.