Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind, attributes his career in artificial intelligence (AI) to his childhood passion for chess. By age 13, he had achieved the status of chess master, a pursuit that ignited his fascination with intelligence and strategic thinking.

This early interest led him to explore AI, culminating in the development of AlphaZero, a self-learning AI system that revolutionized computer chess. 

In 2024, Hassabis, alongside DeepMind colleague John Jumper, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on AlphaFold, an AI model capable of predicting protein structures from amino acid sequences. This breakthrough has significantly advanced our understanding of biological processes and holds promise for medical and scientific applications. ​

Hassabis's journey from a young chess enthusiast to a Nobel laureate exemplifies the profound impact of combining early passions with technological innovation, leading to transformative contributions in AI and science.