The Morning Brief ET@Davos: Demis Hassabis on China, Apple and AGI
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Jan 23, 2026 
Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind and Nobel Laureate 2024, discusses the future of AI and its implications. He reveals that DeepMind's Gemini surpassed Apple’s benchmarks, and shares insights on China's AI advancements, stating it's only months behind but lacking key breakthroughs. Hassabis predicts AGI could arrive in 5–10 years, enabling machines to conduct original science and drive a 'post-scarcity' world. He also addresses AI's energy demands, highlighting innovations like AI-designed fusion.
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From Research To Product Engine
- Google and DeepMind invented many foundational AI advances that modern systems rely on.
- They then shifted to combine research with product delivery to move faster and ship at scale.
Balance Openness With Strategic Guardrails
- Continue to publish and support open science while guarding key architectural secrets.
- Balance open-source models for smaller use cases with selective protection of frontier-model details.
Apple Picked Gemini After Rigorous Tests
- Apple ran a rigorous evaluation of leading models and chose Gemini as the best overall.
- Demis presents the Apple deal as an endorsement of Gemini's capabilities and a major partnership for Google.