Google AI CEO Demis Hassabis ‘points out’ what may be the big irony in ChatGPT’s plan to show ads: When Sam Altman says …
Google AI CEO Demis Hassabis has questioned Sam Altman’s claims of artificial general intelligence (AGI) being around the corner. Speaking at World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Hassabis pointed at the ‘big irony’ in his actions and words.“I think actions speak louder than words,” Hassabis said adding “With Sam and others claiming AGI is around the corner, why would you bother with ads then?”. Demis Hassabis’ comments are directed at OpenAI’s latest announcement to show ads in ChatGPT. Earlier this month, Sam Altman-led AI company announced that it will begin testing ads in ChatGPT in the coming weeks.Demis said “That is a reasonable question to ask,” adding Google has “no plans at the moment to show ads in the Gemini app”. “We are going to watch very carefully the outcome of (ChatGPT ads),” he stated.
Demis Hassabis calls ChatGPT ads ‘premature’
During the interaction, Hassabis called the ad test a premature revenue push. “It’s interesting they’ve gone for that so early,” he said adding “Maybe they feel they need to make more revenue” – something that investors have expressed concerns about recently. In November 2025, tech analyst and professor Scott Galloway issued a warning against possible financial implosion at OpenAI which he then described as a “trainwreck from a financial management perspective.” Earlier this month, veteran investor George Noble argued that the company is “falling apart in real time” despite its eye-watering $500 billion valuation.
Demis Hassabis calls out Sam Altman for claiming we have already whooshed by AGI
When asked if he agrees with Altman’s statement of the world being “whoosed by AGI” and moving towards super intelligence, Demis Hassabis replied:“He does wish that, but absolutely not. I don’t think AGI should be turned into a marketing term or for commercial gain.” “I think there has always been a scientific definition of that. My definition (of AGI) is a system that can exhibit all the cognitive capabilities humans can….. the kind of highest levels of human creativity that we always celebrate, the scientists and the artists that we admire…. (and) not just solving a math equation or a conjecture, but coming up with a breakthrough conjecture. That’s much harder.”Hassabis said that an AGI system must be able to do all of these things to really fulfill the original goal of the AI field. “And I think we’re 5 to 10 years away from that,” he stated.
