In a recent interview on CBS's '60 Minutes', Sir Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, shared an ambitious vision for the future of medicine, suggesting that AI could drastically reduce drug development time from an average of ten years to mere months or even weeks.

Hassabis predicts that within the next decade, AI could potentially eradicate all diseases, fundamentally transforming healthcare and leading to what he describes as 'radical abundance'.

As the UK Government's AI Advisor, Hassabis is actively shaping policies to ensure that AI technologies are developed and implemented safely and ethically.

He emphasizes the importance of responsible AI development, believing that achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI) could unlock groundbreaking scientific advancements and unprecedented prosperity.

For their pioneering work on AI-based protein structure prediction, Hassabis and his research partner, John Jumper, were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, marking a significant milestone in both medicine and biology.

DeepMind's AlphaFold, an AI system for protein structure prediction, has already made substantial contributions to biomedical research, paving the way for future advancements in medicine.

Currently, AI is enhancing healthcare by improving diagnostics, accelerating drug discovery, and personalizing patient treatments, demonstrating its immediate impact on the medical field.

To further his goals, Hassabis founded Isomorphic Labs, which aims to create AI-designed drugs targeting critical diseases like cancer and cardiovascular illnesses, with clinical trials for its first drug expected to begin by the end of 2025.

Hassabis's claims have sparked interest on social media, garnering support from other tech leaders like Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, who praised his vision and called for resources to assist in achieving these ambitious goals.

Despite the optimism surrounding AI's potential, concerns remain about its impact on the pharmaceutical industry and how major drug companies will respond to these technological advancements.

Hassabis acknowledges the significant risks associated with AI, particularly the potential for misuse by malicious actors, and stresses the need for ethical development to align AI with human values.

Looking ahead, Hassabis envisions AI evolving from a mere tool to a co-discoverer in scientific research, capable of generating new hypotheses independently within the next five to ten years.