Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says AGI is still 5–10 years away and needs 1 or 2…

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has reiterated his stance on achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI) – a hypothetical type of AI with human-level intelligence. Despite claiming “the fastest progress” in the industry with the company’s Gemini 3.0 models, Hassabis stated that true AGI remains 5 to 10 years away and will require one or two additional major breakthroughs. He previously said that there's a 50% chance of achieving AGI by 2030.

While talking in an interview, Hassabis expressed satisfaction with the development of Gemini 3, which he expects will “pleasantly surprise” the public, noting that the model is “dead on track” with the rapid trajectory DeepMind has maintained since the beginning of the Gemini project.

“But on top of that. I still think there'll be one or two more things that are required to really get across the board that you’d expect from [artificial] general intelligence and also the improvement on reasoning and memory. And perhaps things like world model ideas that we're working on with Gemini,” he said.

Hassabis confirmed that DeepMind is currently working on these "world model ideas" to extend the capabilities of the Gemini architecture.

Hassabis cautions about current pace of projects

However, the CEO cautioned that this current pace of progress is insufficient to achieve the full scope of general intelligence. Hassabis outlined specific capabilities still needed to bridge the gap:

Improved reasoning: The models require significantly better capacity for logical thought, and stronger memory: The ability to retain and utilise information over longer contexts must be enhanced.

"I still think there'll be one or two more things that are required to really get across the board that you’d expect from general intelligence," Hassabis said. He reiterated that while Gemini 3 is performing as expected, achieving AGI remains 5 to 10 years away and contingent upon those fundamental breakthroughs.

In a post on X, Hassabis said that "Students in the US (and many other countries) can get their hands on all the Gemini 3 Pro goodness for free!"

"Gemini 3 Pro also brings a new level of depth and nuance to every interaction. Its responses are smart, concise and direct, trading cliché and flattery for genuine insight — telling you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear," he also said.

Recently, Hassabis revealed the real secret behind Gemini 3.0's success.

"Actually if you want to know what the real ‘secret’ is �� it’s world-class research AND world-class engineering AND world-class infra all working closely together with relentless focus and intensity…" he said.