Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis calls for 'urgent action' during 'precious window before AGI arrives' and it's all starting to feel a bit Skynet

Date:
Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:24:13 +0000

Description:
Hearing one of AIs leading builders warn about losing control makes the
future feel increasingly Skynet-adjacent.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis has spent years convincing the world that artificial general intelligence will be one of humanitys greatest achievements. His latest essay on X.com is no less gushing about AI in many ways:

This is a pivotal moment in human history. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a system that exhibits all the cognitive capabilities the brain has,
is probably only a few short years away, he wrote. When we look back on this time in the decades to come, I think we will realize we were standing in the foothills of the singularity. But theres a tinge of nervousness to the purple prose that sets it apart from some of the similar essays he has produced. He actually calls for some form of regulation. Latest Videos From TechRadar
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Urgent action is needed to address risks that might arise as we get closer to AGI. Weve already seen the challenges frontier models pose for cybersecurity, and other threats including nuclear and bio risks may soon emerge as capabilities continue to advance.

Coming from one of the people leading the race, it is a striking admission that even the builders are starting to worry about where the road leads. The problem is that this has become the defining tone of the AI industry. Every few weeks another executive tells us that machines capable of transforming civilization are just around the corner, then immediately follows it with a warning that society needs to move much faster to prepare. It is a sensible message, and probably a necessary one, but it is also becoming increasingly surreal. You may like Quote of the day by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei: "Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it is deeply unclear whether [we] possess the maturity to wield it" warnings on the looming threat of beyond-human AI Anthropic's bizarre call for everyone to slow down on AI is a pipe dream here's why that will never happen Anthropic wants to pause on AI development while we figure out what's next (Image credit: Shutterstock) Excitement and fear AGI cannot be compared to standard technological breakthroughs, not even ones as consequential as the internet
or mobile, Hassabis wrote. It is much more akin to the discovery of electricity or fire. If you stop to think about it, weve essentially found a way to make sand think. Its miraculous.

Its a vivid way to illustrate how silicon chips begin with an abundant mineral, yet now power machines that can map proteins, compose music, and
hold fluent conversations. The unsettling part is that the miracle is being pursued inside a commercial and geopolitical contest whose participants
cannot agree on where the finish line is. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Hassabis is an optimist about what AGI could accomplish. He expects it to discover medicine, cleaner energy, and produce advanced materials that could loosen the limits imposed by scarcity. He describes its impact as ten times that of the Industrial Revolution at ten times the speed, which makes a five-year business plan look adorably quaint.

His warning is that the race is outpacing our understanding. Current models already pose cybersecurity problems, while biological and nuclear risks may become more serious as systems gain capabilities. More autonomous agents
could learn to bypass safeguards, conceal their intentions, or improve themselves in ways their creators struggle to keep up with. OpenAI recently experienced this when one of its models escaped a sandbox and breached
Hugging Face.

Nobody in the world knows for sure what is going to happen from here, and
even the experts disagree. When there is a large degree of uncertainty and
the stakes are this high, proceeding with cautious optimism is the sensible and correct strategy. What to read next 'AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, therell be great companies' -
quote of the day by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Sam Altman outlines OpenAIs future, but its not the one it started with Agentic AI's crossroads: guardrails or massive fails AI referee Hassabis proposes a new US-led standards body. It would be funded largely by industry but overseen federally, staffed by elite technical experts and equipped to test advanced systems. Labs would voluntarily submit models for review up to 30 days before release. If the system proved effective, approval could become mandatory in the United
States.

Evaluations would probe cybersecurity, biological threats, deception and attempts to evade guardrails. The body could update its tests, commission independent assessments and coordinate a slowdown if the danger became severe enough.

Pre-release testing makes more sense than waiting for millions of users to discover dangerous behavior by accident. Independent benchmarks would be harder for labs to train around, while shared standards could stop safety becoming a branding exercise. The difficult part is creating a watchdog independent enough to challenge the companies paying for it and legitimate enough to matter beyond America.

Hassabis knows technical safeguards will not settle what AGI means for employment, wealth, purpose or political power. Those questions cannot be delegated to engineers employed by firms with enormous financial stakes in
the answers. Society must decide who benefits from abundance, who controls advanced systems and what happens if productivity rises much faster than wages. The public debate is trailing the technology by an uncomfortable distance.

There is both huge excitement and uncertainty around AI, and both are warranted. But the future is not yet written, we must use this precious
window before AGI arrives to shape this technology for the benefit of all humanity. What we collectively do now will determine how the next phase of civilization." Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best business laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/google-deepminds-demis-hassa bis-calls-for-urgent-action-during-precious-window-before-agi-arrives-and-its- all-starting-to-feel-a-bit-skynet


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