Google AI CEO Demis Hassabis is a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for “protein structure prediction”. He once shared the book that influenced him most as a student – Richard Feynman’s “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!. During an interview in Stockholm for the 2024 Nobel Prize ceremony, Demis Hassabis said “I really recommend to any students watching this to read those books”, adding “I think he really explains and gets across how enjoyable, how thrilling it is to be exploring at the frontiers of Science.” Hassabis said the book reflects the experience of exploring science and noted that inspiration can come not only from mentors but also from engaging with the ideas of leading thinkers.“A lot of it actually comes from reading the greats and trying to understand and take inspiration from them,” Hassabis said during the interaction then.

Books that Google AI CEO Demis Hassabis recommends

Other than Richard Feynman, Demis Hassabis quoted Alan Turing, Claude Shannon and John von Neumann as formative influences, stating that they are foundations of computing, information theory and artificial intelligence.Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on the other hand, has contradictory views on Feynman. In 2023, he said, “It isn’t clear to me why people like Feynman’s physics lectures so much. I found them to be ok, but not great. Wouldn’t recommend them either to those who want to learn physics or those who have.”

Google AI CEO’s AI prediction

In an X post last month, Demis Hassabis has said that one of the most important uses of artificial intelligence (AI) will be improving human health. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Hassabis said AI is already helping speed up drug discovery and could change how new medicines are developed at Isomorphic Labs that he co-founded in 2021. His comments come amid wider debate over AI’s impact on jobs and automation, with Hassabis highlighting healthcare as a key area where AI could deliver long-term benefits for humanity.