Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, foresees a future shaped by artificial intelligence where humanity will begin to explore and colonize the galaxy. In as little as five years, he predicts the development of AI systems smarter than humans—an advancement that, rather than leading to mass unemployment, could lead to what he terms a “golden era.” According to Hassabis, this transformation will mark an age of prosperity and human flourishing, not the dystopia some fear. Other technology leaders, such as Bill Gates and Marc Benioff, share a similarly optimistic view, believing AI will fundamentally alter the world of work for the better.
There is, however, a wide gap in how different groups perceive the potential impact of AI. While CEOs and executives are enthusiastic about the new possibilities that AI promises, many workers are uncertain or even fearful about what lies ahead. Hassabis, in an interview with Wired, offered a broader, more abstract view that goes beyond routine job disruptions, speaking instead about space colonization and the emergence of superhuman capabilities.
“If everything goes well, then we should be in an era of radical abundance, a kind of golden era,” said Hassabis, reinforcing his belief that advanced AI will significantly uplift human life.
Hassabis places his confidence in artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which he defines as AI that matches or surpasses human intellectual abilities. DeepMind, backed by Google with a $600 million budget, is already working on making this vision a reality, and Hassabis said the company is “dead on track” to potentially achieve AGI within five to ten years.
With AI systems already performing certain tasks more efficiently than human workers—such as chatbots, copilots, and automated agents—concerns are rising that more advanced systems could trigger widespread job losses. However, Hassabis refutes this claim, suggesting that these technologies will lead to new kinds of employment rather than wipe out existing jobs.
“What generally tends to happen is new jobs are created that utilize new tools or technologies and are actually better,” he said. “We’ll have these incredible tools that supercharge our productivity and actually almost make us a little bit superhuman.”
He envisions this leap in productivity extending far beyond Earth. “If that all happens, then it should be an era of maximum human flourishing, where we travel to the stars and colonize the galaxy. I think that will begin to happen in 2030.”
Hassabis is convinced that the coming decade, starting around 2030, could represent a turning point for humanity, thanks to AI. He calls this future the “golden era,” one where AGI helps solve major global challenges.
“AGI can solve what I call root-node problems in the world—curing terrible diseases, much healthier and longer lifespans, finding new energy sources,” he explained.
Despite his optimism, some in the tech world are sounding alarms about the turbulence ahead. Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, has warned that up to 50% of entry-level jobs could be automated within five years. He cautions this could push unemployment rates to 10% or even 20%. Similarly, Aneesh Raman, LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer, has expressed concerns that technological disruption will first affect the most vulnerable segments of the workforce.
Hassabis, however, maintains that fears of a widespread AI-induced job crisis may be overstated. He noted that he hasn’t personally observed much pushback against AI taking over jobs. Instead, he views these tools as mechanisms to amplify human potential. For example, in healthcare, AI can assist rather than replace workers.
“There’s a lot of things that we won’t want to do with a machine,” he said. “You wouldn’t want a robot nurse—there’s something about the human empathy aspect of that care that’s particularly humanistic.”
Other tech industry leaders share Hassabis’ belief that AI will reshape the nature of work—but they offer different visions of what that future might look like. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates imagines a world where AI automates many routine tasks, potentially shortening the workweek dramatically.
“What will jobs be like? Should we just work like 2 or 3 days a week?” Gates pondered during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon earlier this year.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff offered another perspective. He believes that the current generation of CEOs will be the last to oversee fully human workforces. As AI continues to integrate into the workplace, executives will need to learn to lead both people and machines.
“From this point forward…we will be managing not only human workers but also digital workers,” Benioff said during a panel discussion.
Chris Hyams, CEO of job search platform Indeed, also aligns with Hassabis in thinking that AI won’t wipe out vast numbers of jobs. However, he stressed that the kinds of skills employers value are rapidly evolving. While technical expertise in areas like software development, data science, and cybersecurity has been highly prized over the last decade, Hyams now sees a shift toward soft skills.
“Every job is going to change pretty radically, and I think many of them in the next year,” he said. He emphasized the importance of attributes such as empathy, curiosity, and a genuine eagerness to keep learning. “Having a curiosity and an openness and maybe even a veracity to learn new things” will be critical, Hyams added.
As AI becomes more capable, these human-centered qualities could prove to be the most important assets in the workplace of the future. Even though the nature of work may change dramatically, leaders like Hassabis are confident that it will ultimately change for the better. The world of tomorrow may involve fewer mundane tasks and more meaningful, creative roles enabled by advanced AI.
Rather than inciting mass unemployment, AI could be the catalyst for one of the most transformative and uplifting eras in human history. While opinions differ and challenges remain, tech leaders overwhelmingly agree that we are on the brink of a major shift—one that could redefine both the workplace and the human experience as we know it.