Demis Hassabis, CEO and Co-founder of Google DeepMind, said on Wednesday that artificial general intelligence (AGI) could be “on the horizon in five to eight years”, adding that the fast-growing AI industry presents a 'huge opportunity' for India’s youth.

Speaking at a session during the ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026,’ he said that it has been amazing to see the progress in the field of AI in just over a decade, and the India Summit comes at a “critical time” as the world begins to see the early emergence of autonomous systems.

He stressed the importance of global forums like the India AI Impact Summit that bring the international community together.

He called the current phase of AI development a ‘threshold moment’.

According to him, the world is entering a “golden era” of scientific discovery, likening it to the beginning of an entirely new era.

Hassabis said that reinforcement learning has been successful because “learning is key, not being programmed.” Allowing systems to learn directly from data is what makes modern AI powerful, he noted.

Hassabis also spoke on global AI research trends, innovation priorities, and the future of advanced AI systems.

According to Google DeepMind CEO, advances in AI could unlock breakthroughs across multiple disciplines and usher in a new phase of human progress.

The ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026’ brings together the heads of state and government, ministers, global technology leaders, eminent researchers, multilateral institutions and industry stakeholders to deliberate on the role of AI in advancing inclusive growth, strengthening public systems and enabling sustainable development, while marking the first time that a global convening of this scale on the issue is being organised in the Global South.

The five-day summit is witnessing participation from over 100 government representatives, including more than 20 heads of state and government and 60 Ministers and Vice Ministers, along with over 500 global AI leaders comprising CEOs, founders, academicians, researchers, CTOs and philanthropic organisations.