Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis gets UK knighthood for ‘services to artificial intelligence’

Demis Hassabis, CEO and one of the three founders of DeepMind, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) subsidiary, been rewarded a knighthood in the United Kingdom for “services to artificial intelligence”.

Ian Hogarth, chairman of the UK government’s recently launched AI Safety Institute and former founder of music startup Songkick, has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to AI; as does Matt Clifford, AI advisor to the UK government and co-founder of early-stage investor Entrepreneur First.

Prodigy

Hassabis was born in London in 1976, becoming a prodigy in a number of disciplines and reaching chess master status by the time he was a teenager. He then became a lead programmer at legendary British video game developer Bullfrog Productions; graduated from the University of Cambridge with first class honors in computer science; and worked in various roles in AI and computer science before obtaining a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from University College London (UCL).

Alongside Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman, whom Microsoft hired last week from AI startup Inflection AI, Hassabis founded DeepMind in London in 2010.

Hassabis was awarded a CBE in 2017 for “services to science and technology” following some high-profile achievements at DeepMind, including developing an AI system that beat the world champion in gaming However, the company also attracted controversy after signing data sharing agreements with the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). Seven years later, it is telling that his knighthood was awarded specifically for his services to “artificial intelligence”, a field that has catapulted into mainstream consciousness over the past 18 months thanks to technologically advanced technologies. such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The United Kingdom wanted to position itself at the forefront of the AI ​​revolution, driven by initiatives such as the AI ​​Safety Summit it organized in England last November. And it ranks among the world’s leading AI countries in terms of R&D investment, behind the US and China, with DeepMind being one of the UK’s largest AI exports. After acquiring DeepMind in 2014 for more than $500 million, it has become one of Google’s most critical assets as big tech companies fight for AI dominance. Alongside Google Research, DeepMind is responsible for Gemini, Google’s rival to OpenAI’s GPT. -family of major brand language models.

So it makes sense that the UK would seek to honor one of its most high-profile AI figureheads. Other notable figures from the tech world who have received a knighthood include Apple’s Jonathan “Jony” Ive in 2011 for his “services to design and business.”

In past centuries, knighthoods were generally reserved for military achievements, but today they are usually awarded for services and achievements of national significance, e.g. contributions to science, sport, entertainment and technology. A knighthood is usually proposed by the Prime Minister, a ministry, members of Parliament or even members of the public, the head of state – that is, the king or queen at any given time – technically making the final decision as to who will receive them.

The recipient does not benefit from any significant privileges through his knighthood, but he does benefit from the cultural and social kudos associated with being able to prefix his name with “Sir”.