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Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's artificial intelligence research company DeepMind, right, and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discuss the future of AI, ethics and democracy during an event at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis
A top Google scientist and 2024 Nobel laureate said Friday that the most important skill for the next generation will be "learning how to learn" to keep pace with change as Artificial Intelligence transforms education and the workplace.
Speaking at an ancient Roman theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind, said rapid technological change demands a new approach to learning and skill development.
"It's very hard to predict the future, like 10 years from now, in normal cases. It's even harder today, given how fast AI is changing, even week by week," Hassabis told the audience. "The only thing you can say for certain is that huge change is coming."
The neuroscientist and former chess prodigy said artificial general intelligence—a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can—could arrive within a decade. This, he said, will bring dramatic advances and a possible future of "radical abundance" despite acknowledged risks.
Hassabis emphasized the need for "meta-skills," such as understanding how to learn and optimizing one's approach to new subjects, alongside traditional disciplines like math, science and humanities.
"One thing we'll know for sure is you're going to have to continually learn ... throughout your career," he said.
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center, and Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's artificial intelligence research company DeepMind, right, discuss the future of AI, ethics and democracy as the moderator Linda Rottenberg, Co-founder & CEO of Endeavor looks on during an event at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's artificial intelligence research company DeepMind, bottom right, and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, bottom center, discuss the future of AI, ethics and democracy during an event at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, under Acropolis ancient hill, in Athens, Greece, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis
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