Elon Musk, Sam Altman and the world’s billionaires are terrified of the Google AI genius behind a 25-year-old computer game, because they think he might actually end up controlling god
Documents released from Elon Musk’s ongoing legal dispute with OpenAI founder Sam Altman reveal a significant concern among prominent tech billionaires: the growing influence of Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind. The lawsuit centers on OpenAI’s controversial 2024 transition to a for-profit structure, which Musk claims was a betrayal of the company’s original non-profit mission. Emails and text exchanges uncovered in the litigation show a recurring theme: apprehension about Hassabis’s potential to shape AI development. One document contains a striking quote: “There is a very low probability of a good future if someone doesn’t slow Demis down.” Hassabis, widely recognized as one of the world’s most talented AI researchers and the architect of DeepMind’s breakthrough achievements, has become a focal point of concern regarding unchecked advancement in artificial intelligence technology. The documents suggest that multiple influential figures fear the concentration of AI research progress and decision-making power in his hands, reflecting broader anxieties within the tech industry about AI governance and the pace of AI development.