Opinion: Demis Hassabis’ new role exposes Google’s AI balancing act

Demis Hassabis is one of the defining figures of the AI era. Google recognized his potential early, buying DeepMind just four years after he founded it.What once began as a small London-based company now sits at the heart of Google's fight to lead in artificial intelligence, as the company races to compete with a growing field of global rivals including OpenAI and Anthropic.But a leadership shakeup announced on Wednesday, which saw Hassabis step back from being CEO to become chair of Google DeepMind and parent company Alphabet's chief scientist leave, concerned investors and the share price dropped following the announcement. I have covered DeepMind for more than a decade and recently sat down with Hassabis for an exclusive interview. What may have come as a surprise to many, to me, feels like a natural progression. But the move also exposes the tension at the center of Google's AI strategy: Hassabis wants to use AI to transform science, while Google needs to commercialize, monetize and scale the technology fast enough to justify the billions it is spending.Hassabis' scientific questHassabis has been very vocal about his goals with AI. In our interview on CNBC's podcast "The Tech D...