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Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s DeepMind and a Nobel Prize-winning AI researcher, called for stronger international collaboration on AI regulation but acknowledged the challenges of achieving this in the current geopolitical climate. Speaking at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in London on Monday, Hassabis highlighted the critical need for cooperation as artificial intelligence becomes embedded across industries worldwide.
“The most important thing is it’s got to be some form of international cooperation because the technology is across all borders. It’s going to get applied to all countries,” Hassabis said. He noted the widespread involvement of countries in AI research, data centres, and technology hosting, underlining that effective governance requires global coordination.
However, he admitted that “unfortunately that’s looking quite difficult in today’s geopolitical context,” referring to the current strained international relations which hinder unified regulation efforts.
Earlier this year at the Paris AI summit, 58 countries, including China, France, India, the European Union, and the African Union Commission, called for enhanced AI governance coordination. Yet the United States and the United Kingdom declined to endorse the summit’s appeal for “open,” “inclusive,” and “ethical” AI, with US Vice President JD Vance warning that “excessive regulation” could stifle innovation in the transformative sector.
Hassabis emphasised the need for “smart, adaptable regulation” that can evolve alongside the technology and respond to emerging challenges. He pointed to artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI that could match or surpass human intelligence — as a key future challenge requiring thoughtful oversight.
As AI’s reach expands rapidly, Hassabis’s remarks underline the urgency and complexity of achieving effective, coordinated governance following global political tensions.
