DeepMind's CEO says using AI can make you a genius — or hurt your critical thinking skills

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, recently shared insights on the impact of artificial intelligence on human cognition during an interview at the India AI Impact Summit. He compared AI's influence to that of the internet, emphasizing that its effects—positive or negative—largely depend on how individuals choose to engage with it. Hassabis cautioned that employing AI carelessly could undermine one’s critical thinking skills. "If you use it in a lazy way, it will make you worse at critical thinking and so on," he remarked. He stressed the importance of using technology thoughtfully to enhance intellectual capabilities rather than diminish them. Having co-founded DeepMind in 2010, which was acquired by Google in 2014 and later merged with Google Brain in 2023, Hassabis has been at the forefront of AI development. His contributions to the field, particularly in protein structure prediction, earned him and his colleague John Jumper the 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. As AI becomes increasingly woven into daily life, discussions about its potential risks and benefits are gaining traction. Tech magnate Mark Cuban recently categorized AI users into two types: those who leverage it for learning and those who rely on it to avoid learning altogether. Cuban has previously criticized AI models for their limitations, describing them as "stupid" but likening them to "a savant that remembers everything." Additionally, Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI lab Mistral, warned at a recent conference about the dangers of overreliance on AI. He pointed out that the greatest threat lies not in AI surpassing human intelligence but in making individuals overly comfortable and dependent, potentially leading to a decline in critical thinking and independent action.