Alphabet has appointed Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis to the newly created role of chief scientist, moving him away from day-to-day management at Google DeepMind to focus on long-term AI strategy and artificial general intelligence. The company's share price fell about 4% when the change became public.
Hassabis will remain chairman of Google DeepMind. In an internal message to employees, he said his main objective is to make the development of AGI safe, responsible, and beneficial to humanity. He also said he decided to focus entirely on research and strategy because he believes the era of AGI is approaching.
AGI refers to artificial intelligence that can perform intellectual tasks at a human level or higher across a wide range of fields, learning, understanding, and making decisions independently. Most AI systems currently in use are built for specific tasks.
Alphabet's AGI focus
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai voiced strong support for the appointment. "Demis and I have been discussing such a role for a long time that would help him fully focus on building the future of AGI. This is an extremely important task not only for Alphabet but for all of humanity," Pichai said in a message to employees. He said no one is better suited for the role than Hassabis.
DeepMind's new daily leadership
Kori Kawukcuoglu, currently DeepMind's chief technology officer, will take over Hassabis's daily responsibilities. He will also hold the titles of senior vice president at DeepMind and chief AI architect at Alphabet. The company did not give him the CEO title.
Senior researchers leave Google
Several prominent AI and engineering figures have left Google. Jeff Dean, Sanjay Ghemawat, Oriol Vinyals, and Quoc Le founded a new startup called Discovery Loop, registered as a Public Benefit Corporation. The company said it will conduct new research in AI, machine learning, science, and engineering. Alphabet has not publicly explained why the senior scientists departed.
Why this matters for executives and strategists
The leadership change separates Alphabet's long-term AGI research from DeepMind's day-to-day operations. For executives, that structure makes AGI a distinct strategic priority, but it also concentrates decision-making around a single scientist.
The 4% drop in Alphabet's share price suggests investors are uneasy about the transition. The departure of four senior researchers adds to that picture: Alphabet is betting heavily on Hassabis while other well-known names leave the company. For strategy teams, the immediate question is how Alphabet manages succession and retention around its most senior AI roles.
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