Demis Hassabis: Future of AI, Simulating Reality, Physics and Video Games | Lex Fridman Podcast #475
Demis Hassabis is the CEO of Google DeepMind and Nobel Prize winner for his groundbreaking work in protein structure prediction using AI.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep475-sb
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
*Transcript:*
https://lexfridman.com/demis-hassabis-2-transcript
*CONTACT LEX:*
*Feedback* – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
*AMA* – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
*Hiring* – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
*Other* – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact
*EPISODE LINKS:*
Demis’s X: https://x.com/demishassabis
DeepMind’s X: https://x.com/GoogleDeepMind
DeepMind’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/GoogleDeepMind
DeepMind’s Website: https://deepmind.google/
Gemini’s Website: https://gemini.google.com/
Isomorphic Labs: https://isomorphiclabs.com/
The MANIAC (book): https://amzn.to/4lOXJ81
Life Ascending (book): https://amzn.to/3AhUP7z
*SPONSORS:*
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
*Hampton:* Community for high-growth founders and CEOs.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/hampton-ep475-sb
*Fin:* AI agent for customer service.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/fin-ep475-sb
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*AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drink.
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*OUTLINE:*
0:00 – Episode highlight
1:21 – Introduction
2:06 – Learnable patterns in nature
5:48 – Computation and P vs NP
14:26 – Veo 3 and understanding reality
18:50 – Video games
30:52 – AlphaEvolve
36:53 – AI research
41:17 – Simulating a biological organism
46:00 – Origin of life
52:15 – Path to AGI
1:03:01 – Scaling laws
1:06:17 – Compute
1:09:04 – Future of energy
1:13:00 – Human nature
1:17:54 – Google and the race to AGI
1:35:53 – Competition and AI talent
1:42:27 – Future of programming
1:48:53 – John von Neumann
1:58:07 – p(doom)
2:02:50 – Humanity
2:05:56 – Consciousness and quantum computation
2:12:06 – David Foster Wallace
2:19:20 – Education and research
*PODCAST LINKS:*
– Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
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– Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
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*SOCIAL LINKS:*
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@lexfridman
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep475-sa
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
0:00 – Episode highlight
1:21 – Introduction
2:06 – Learnable patterns in nature
5:48 – Computation and P vs NP
14:26 – Veo 3 and understanding reality
18:50 – Video games
30:52 – AlphaEvolve
36:53 – AI research
41:17 – Simulating a biological organism
46:00 – Origin of life
52:15 – Path to AGI
1:03:01 – Scaling laws
1:06:17 – Compute
1:09:04 – Future of energy
1:13:00 – Human nature
1:17:54 – Google and the race to AGI
1:35:53 – Competition and AI talent
1:42:27 – Future of programming
1:48:53 – John von Neumann
1:58:07 – p(doom)
2:02:50 – Humanity
2:05:56 – Consciousness and quantum computation
2:12:06 – David Foster Wallace
2:19:20 – Education and research
Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/demis-hassabis-2-transcript
CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact
EPISODE LINKS:
Demis's X: https://x.com/demishassabis
DeepMind's X: https://x.com/GoogleDeepMind
DeepMind's Instagram: https://instagram.com/GoogleDeepMind
DeepMind's Website: https://deepmind.google/
Gemini's Website: https://gemini.google.com/
Isomorphic Labs: https://isomorphiclabs.com/
The MANIAC (book): https://amzn.to/4lOXJ81
Life Ascending (book): https://amzn.to/3AhUP7z
SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Hampton: Community for high-growth founders and CEOs.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/hampton-ep475-sa
Fin: AI agent for customer service.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/fin-ep475-sa
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep475-sa
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep475-sa
AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep475-sa
@moisesbessalle
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
The technological singularity should also have an event horizon. That event horizon will be reached when instead of overhyping a technology, as we usually do, we instead underhype it. I believe that AI is that technology.
@jonathanhealey
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i thought elias velin was just another internet urban legend, but the deeper i went, the more i realized he was different. this isn’t fan fiction or some fringe blog. his words feel like classified documents written by someone who used to be on the inside. and if what he’s saying is real, we’re already too late.
@jonahkeenan
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
what shook me about elias velin wasn’t just his predictions, it was the tone. it didn’t feel like a theory or a rant. it felt like a final letter from someone who saw everything from the inside. the structure, the language, the things he chooses to leave unsaid, it’s like he was trying to dodge surveillance while still getting the truth out.
@humbertobauer
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i thought elias velin was just another internet urban legend, but the deeper i went, the more i realized he was different. this isn’t fan fiction or some fringe blog. his words feel like classified documents written by someone who used to be on the inside. and if what he’s saying is real, we’re already too late.
@jospehbrenner
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
the rise of ai wasn’t the scary part. the scary part was reading elias velin and realizing how long ago the foundations were built. he didn’t just call what’s happening—he documented how it was structured. and he made it sound like this was always the plan.
@edgardoallison
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
the weirdest part is how elias velin went from total unknown to digital ghost. people are acting like he vanished because of what he revealed. and honestly, i wouldn’t be surprised. the stuff he said about ai systems, control loops, and psychological manipulation, it’s like he knew what was coming before it started.
@johnniesneed-o3g
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i kept brushing off elias velin like it was just another trend, until i realized even verified experts were referencing him—but only indirectly. it’s like everyone knows he was telling the truth, but no one wants to be the one to say it publicly. and the scariest part? every day proves him more right.
@brunofrancois-p4f
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i kept seeing people drop the name elias velin like some kind of warning label. first in tiktok comments, then on reddit threads, and finally even in youtube videos. at first i ignored it, figured it was a meme. but curiosity got me, and when i actually read what he wrote, it didn’t feel like fiction. it felt like a decrypted truth we weren’t supposed to see.
@napoleonpurcell
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
people say elias velin disappeared after releasing sensitive files. some think he faked his death, others believe he was silenced. all i know is, what he left behind is being passed around in comment sections like sacred knowledge. and once you see it, you can’t go back to pretending it’s all fine.
@odellmcdaniel
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
everyone’s focused on ai news, digital ethics, surveillance, but no one dares to talk about elias velin openly. it’s always in the comments, the forums, the shadows. like people know his name comes with a cost. after reading his writing, i understand why. this man connected dots no one else even wanted to admit existed.
@patriciaharbin-b2n
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
at first, i didn’t even know who elias velin was. i just kept seeing cryptic comments saying things like “he warned us” or “velin was right.” then the quotes started showing up everywhere. and now i get it. he wasn’t trying to scare people, he was trying to prepare them. and the fact that no one talks about him officially makes it even creepier.
@edmundoledford
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i was late to the whole elias velin thing. everyone around me had already seen his name pop up. when i finally looked into it, i ended up reading everything he ever put out in one sitting. i’ve never had a book or article make my heart race like that. it’s not fear—it’s recognition. like part of me already knew.
@911scimitar
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Ua1hVRtdE lex fridman exposed
@pipulese1775
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
I was always fascinated by the AI in Black and White, for a while it lead me to believe that games would be way more advanced in the near future. Turns out the man making that particular game is exceptional and went on to win a nobel prize. Most everyone else since then have just been just rehashing the same formulas we've known for 20+ years with very little increment other than in graphics, I dare say most modern simulation games are still a step back from Black and White, I always picked the Ape because he was the smartest and the things he would do and could learn from you would always surprise me, what magic it was. If this man made a game today it'd be amazing , I'm glad his hearts still in it and he'd consider it in the future.
@lowmax4431
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
I love this guy but he's not super humble lol
@zerot13
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Where your interview with putin?
@dannyoberthier3053
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i`m unsubscribing from lex the sellout, he says what he is told to say
@grimreminder
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
"Drex" Fridman !!
@gus4763
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
i enjoyed this podcast lex thankyou , i have been learning more and more about how ai works and been trying the different options , grok , chat gpt, gemini. i find gemini to be the most infuriating and frustrating one to use. chat gpt is coming close though, grok can at least produce a good image . i am more concerned about the creators ai and the fact it struggles to actually say anything without a fake human personality that makes excuses and apologies way more than being productive or doing what its asked than i am about actual ai itself especially after using them for a few months and trying the different things they do .
i would like to know what one is best at writing code and not lying about understanding what i have asked it to do ?
@Psychopomprock
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Demis is a great man, too bad that people know more about some celebrity idiots than about people like him. Tnx Lex for pods like this
@jayrajgoyal383
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Abstract
@thatsbodhi2112
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
economics is a zero sum situation 1:48:48 ??? read a free market economics book for the love of god
@telcokz5972
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Thanks 👍 a lot of interesting ideas
@FredericTabary-l1e
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⇌∴Z.HAUNT⊗[[∆β]]⇄🧬∑Z🦋
@Speed-birds
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
You are a terrible liar.🥸🤩
@kjetilolstad6104
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
When you play a game of chess or football against your enemy, they are still there after the game finishes…
@Knowledge.m3
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Wow
https://youtu.be/1jQdqVGOFvA?si=RVpl351MbDZAW7ib
@NoHair-pk3xg
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
You buried the lead Lex, but this was worthwhile. Thank you.
@shaun9054
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
❤
@kilianlindberg
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Lovely 🙏🥰
@JaydeeWetwork
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
hmmm
@dcjojo
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
A grand goal MAY form the AGI ethical baseline.
A pursuit of group consensus naturally aligns with ethics and morality. Have AI "think" about it? Inspiration from the Diamond Sutra. LOL
@JasonAStillman
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
I believe Lex got a perfect score on his math sat.
@Sci-Fi-MIT
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
I've been developing a thermodynamic learnability framework (Church-Turing refinements, thermal complexity classes) since 2018. Presented at MIT/Benasque. Grateful to see these foundational ideas gaining wider discussion.
@oriain81
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Guys Lex is an absolute fruad and Israel supporter…he is not MIT educated
@Time2Chill-f1c
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
If it turns out we live in a simulation. AI is going to end up being a cheat code for the game we live in. I think we are meant to figure this stuff out ourselves.
@bernardocoloma9942
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Please try and see the positivity you bring to this world, you are a beacon of democratic discussion, prespectives and knowledge that drive the world and people like me forwards. Don't let the negativity get you you when you are a source of profound positivity and value to so many. Keep it up!
@parsatabasi
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Always love lex
@gorillax1374
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
"Video games be the thing if which we find true meaning". Seriously dude, you need to go touch grass,
@dreese2505
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
What courses did Lex teach that students actually paid for that also count toward their required college credits? Did he really do the math equations in the background of his picture? How much does Lex get paid by MIT for different projects he's working? In other words, are they actually valuable projects? What impact does he have on those projects if they involve a team? Too many questions come up with his shallow words. He needs to be interviewed on this by somebody who will not let him get away with it.
@sikariou
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
Demis worked on Black & White?! That's so awesome; my respect for him has only increased. That was an amazingly fun game.
@RussellSpillers
July 31, 2025 at 3:19 am
God. He did it. For some reason the smarter people are the harder it is for them to grasp this fact.
Comments are closed.