Google’s top AI scientist says ‘learning how to learn’ will be next generation’s most needed skill

September 13, 2025

The GIST Google's top AI scientist says 'learning how to learn' will be next generation's most needed skill

Related Post

OpenAI reaches new agreement with Microsoft to change its corporate structure

September 13, 2025

AI hype has just shaken up the world’s rich list: What if the boom is really a bubble?

September 12, 2025

Andrew Zinin

lead editor

Editors' notes

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

reputable news agency

proofread

A top Google scientist and 2024 Nobel laureate said Friday that the most important skill for the next generation will be "learning how to learn" to keep pace with change as Artificial Intelligence transforms education and the workplace.

Speaking at an ancient Roman theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind, said rapid technological change demands a new approach to learning and skill development.

"It's very hard to predict the future, like 10 years from now, in normal cases. It's even harder today, given how fast AI is changing, even week by week," Hassabis told the audience. "The only thing you can say for certain is that huge change is coming."

The neuroscientist and former chess prodigy said artificial general intelligence—a futuristic vision of machines that are as broadly smart as humans or at least can do many things as well as people can—could arrive within a decade. This, he said, will bring dramatic advances and a possible future of "radical abundance" despite acknowledged risks.

Hassabis emphasized the need for "meta-skills," such as understanding how to learn and optimizing one's approach to new subjects, alongside traditional disciplines like math, science and humanities.

"One thing we'll know for sure is you're going to have to continually learn … throughout your career," he said.

The DeepMind co-founder, who established the London-based research lab in 2010 before Google acquired it four years later, shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing AI systems that accurately predict protein folding—a breakthrough for medicine and drug discovery.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined Hassabis at the Athens event after discussing ways to expand AI use in government services. Mitsotakis warned that the continued growth of huge tech companies could create great global financial inequality.

"Unless people actually see benefits, personal benefits, to this (AI) revolution, they will tend to become very skeptical," he said. "And if they see … obscene wealth being created within very few companies, this is a recipe for significant social unrest."

Mitsotakis thanked Hassabis, whose father is Greek Cypriot, for rescheduling the presentation to avoid conflicting with the European basketball championship semifinal between Greece and Turkey. Greece later lost the game 94-68.

© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Citation: Google's top AI scientist says 'learning how to learn' will be next generation's most needed skill (2025, September 13) retrieved 13 September 2025 from https://techxplore.com/news/2025-09-google-ai-scientist-generation-skill.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer