Teens should be training to become AI 'ninjas, ' Google DeepMind CEO says

• Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis urged teens to lean into learning about AI.
• Hassabis said learning AI tools and maintaining STEM skills can help them in future jobs.
• He predicts that AI advancements will disrupt some jobs and create "more valuable" ones.

Teens should consider learning AI tools now or risk falling behind, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says.

Just as millennials had the internet and personal computers and Gen Z had smartphones and tablets, generative AI is the transformative technology of Gen Alpha's time — and they should embrace it, the AI leader said on a recent episode of "Hard Fork," a podcast about the future of technology.

"Over the next 5 to 10 years, I think we're going to find what normally happens with big new technology shifts, which is that some jobs get disrupted," he told co-hosts Kevin Roose and Casey Newton.

However, he said, "new, more valuable, usually more interesting jobs get created" in the wake of that kind of disruption.

The generative AI arms race began in earnest with the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022. The technology has advanced rapidly ever since, sparking both excitement and concern for how it will revolutionize the workplace and the world at large.

Google DeepMind is the research lab behind Google's AI projects, including Gemini, the company's chatbot. Hassabis is leading Google's charge toward the AI race's ultimate prize — artificial general intelligence.

There is little agreement on a definition for AGI, but generally, it is considered an AI model that can reason in the same way a human does. Hassabis said Tuesday during a live interview at the Google I/O developer conference that DeepMind is less than 10 years away from creating its own.

"Whatever happens with these AI tools, you'll be better off understanding how they work, and how they function, and what you can do with them," Hassabis said, referring to young people.

He advised those headed to college to "immerse yourself now" and strive to "become a sort of ninja using the latest tools." Hassabis said they should spend time "learning to learn" — the same advice he gave to students at the University of Cambridge.

Other AI leaders have also encouraged teenagers anxious about AI to learn about it. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman told young people to play with the new technology and learn its weaknesses. In higher education, Rice University announced Tuesday that it will join a growing number of colleges offering AI degrees.

That doesn't mean they should abandon the building blocks that make for a good STEM student, Hassabis said. He still recommends getting good at coding and building up fundamental skills for success.

"Creativity skills, adaptability, resilience. I think all of these, sort of meta skills, are what will be important for the next generation," he said on the podcast.