Demis Hassabis

Well, first of all, thanks for having me on the podcast. Chess for me is where it all started actually in gaming. And I started playing chess when I was four, very seriously, all through my childhood, playing for most of the England junior teams, captaining a lot of the teams.

And for a long while, my main aim was to become a professional chess player, a grandmaster, maybe one day possibly a world champion. And that was my whole childhood, really. Every spare moment, not at school, I was going around the world playing chess against adults in international tournaments.

And for a long while, my main aim was to become a professional chess player, a grandmaster, maybe one day possibly a world champion. And that was my whole childhood, really. Every spare moment, not at school, I was going around the world playing chess against adults in international tournaments.

And for a long while, my main aim was to become a professional chess player, a grandmaster, maybe one day possibly a world champion. And that was my whole childhood, really. Every spare moment, not at school, I was going around the world playing chess against adults in international tournaments.

And then around 11 years old, I sort of had an epiphany really, that although I love chess and I still love chess today, is it really something that one should spend your entire life on? Is it the best use of my mind? So that was one thing that was troubling me a little bit.

And then around 11 years old, I sort of had an epiphany really, that although I love chess and I still love chess today, is it really something that one should spend your entire life on? Is it the best use of my mind? So that was one thing that was troubling me a little bit.

And then around 11 years old, I sort of had an epiphany really, that although I love chess and I still love chess today, is it really something that one should spend your entire life on? Is it the best use of my mind? So that was one thing that was troubling me a little bit.

But then the other thing was, as we were going to training camps with the England chess team, we started to use early chess computers to try and improve your chess. And I remember thinking, Of course, we were supposed to be focusing on improving the chess openings and chess theory and tactics.

But then the other thing was, as we were going to training camps with the England chess team, we started to use early chess computers to try and improve your chess. And I remember thinking, Of course, we were supposed to be focusing on improving the chess openings and chess theory and tactics.

But then the other thing was, as we were going to training camps with the England chess team, we started to use early chess computers to try and improve your chess. And I remember thinking, Of course, we were supposed to be focusing on improving the chess openings and chess theory and tactics.

But actually, I was more fascinated by the fact that someone had programmed this inanimate lump of plastic to play very good chess against me. And I was fascinated by how that was done. And I really wanted to understand that and then eventually try and make my own chess programs.

But actually, I was more fascinated by the fact that someone had programmed this inanimate lump of plastic to play very good chess against me. And I was fascinated by how that was done. And I really wanted to understand that and then eventually try and make my own chess programs.

But actually, I was more fascinated by the fact that someone had programmed this inanimate lump of plastic to play very good chess against me. And I was fascinated by how that was done. And I really wanted to understand that and then eventually try and make my own chess programs.

Yeah, well, look, first of all, I mean, it's great. Your son's playing chess and I think it's fantastic. I'm a big advocate for teaching chess in schools as a part of the curriculum. I think it's fantastic training for the mind, just like doing maths or programming would be.

Yeah, well, look, first of all, I mean, it's great. Your son's playing chess and I think it's fantastic. I'm a big advocate for teaching chess in schools as a part of the curriculum. I think it's fantastic training for the mind, just like doing maths or programming would be.

Yeah, well, look, first of all, I mean, it's great. Your son's playing chess and I think it's fantastic. I'm a big advocate for teaching chess in schools as a part of the curriculum. I think it's fantastic training for the mind, just like doing maths or programming would be.

And it's certainly affected the way, you know, the way I approach problems and problem solve and visualize solutions and plan, you know, teaches you all these amazing meta skills, dealing with pressure. So you sort of learn all of that as a young kid, which is fantastic for anything else you're going to do. And as far as Deep Blue goes, you're right.

And it's certainly affected the way, you know, the way I approach problems and problem solve and visualize solutions and plan, you know, teaches you all these amazing meta skills, dealing with pressure. So you sort of learn all of that as a young kid, which is fantastic for anything else you're going to do. And as far as Deep Blue goes, you're right.

And it's certainly affected the way, you know, the way I approach problems and problem solve and visualize solutions and plan, you know, teaches you all these amazing meta skills, dealing with pressure. So you sort of learn all of that as a young kid, which is fantastic for anything else you're going to do. And as far as Deep Blue goes, you're right.

Most of these early chess programs, and then Deep Blue became the pinnacle of that, were these types of expert systems, which at the time was the favored way of approaching AI, where actually it's the programmers that solve the problem, in this case, playing chess.