Move 37 / Fold Everything
A history about Demis Hassabis, a true polymath, who leads Google Gemini
While we often hear names like Elon Musk or Sam Altman, there is one figure described on the My First Million podcast as the "most important founder you’ve never heard of": Demis Hassabis.
Inspiring !!!
At 4:00 a.m. this morning, I sat enthralled watching the Thinking Game.
This documentary has gathered 324 million views in a month!!!
Hassabis, the founder of DeepMind (now a cornerstone of Google’s AI efforts), was a chess prodigy who ranked second in the world for his age group as a child. While many would have been content with grandmaster titles, Hassabis had a different vision. After a frustrating loss in a tournament, he realized that the immense brainpower humans dedicated to games could be redirected toward solving the world's most complex problems—like curing cancer.
Games & Move 37
His path to AI was paved with games. At just 16, he developed the groundbreaking "guest logic" for the hit game Theme Park. Later, at DeepMind, he used games like Pong and the ancient board game Go as a training ground for AI. The goal wasn't just to win;
it was to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
The turning point came with "Move 37" during the AlphaGo match against world champion Lee Sedol. The AI made a move so creative and "un-human" that it stunned the world. Demis next challenged "the Chinese guy" who was the world number one Go player. During the exciting game, suddenly the Chinese State TV (which was broadcasting the game live) switched to a Tai Chi in the park video. This was viewed as a Sputnik movement, and sparked a global AI race.
Protein Folding
Hassabis moved beyond games to "AI-assisted science," using AI to predict protein folding—a breakthrough that could revolutionize how we treat diseases. His story is one of intense mission-driven passion, where the ultimate prize isn't billions of dollars, but the acceleration of human knowledge.
What comes Next?
Towards the end of this debate, I learned that both CEOs liked the SciFi movie Contact. That inspired me to create a short video of my own...