Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a key part of our lives. So much so that, increasingly, there is a conversation around the jobs and work that people do. There is a real chance that many of the careers that humans currently aspire to or craft may not even exist in the AI-powered world. So, what is the future of work, jobs and how should students currently in colleges and schools prepare for AI? DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has a suggestion. His advice to students: You must focus on learning how to learn.

In a recent discussion at Queens’ College, Cambridge, Hassabis offered candid advice to students who will be navigating potential careers in the tech sector. “For the next five to ten years, there is going to be an incredible amount of disruption and change due to technology —especially AI, but also VR, AR, quantum computing — all of these things are looking like they’re going to be promising,” says Hassabis.

To deal with these changes Hassabis suggests that students should focus on learning how to deal with information and acquire new skills quickly. To embrace and adapt to technological changes, Hassabis urges students to use their undergraduate years wisely, prioritising self-discovery and, critically, mastering the art of learning itself. “It’s important to use the time you have as an undergraduate to understand yourself better and learn how to learn,” he advised.

This capability, he suggested, is more durable and valuable than specific hard skills, which may quickly become outdated in the face of technological advancement, as AI is already capable of handling hard skills.

Additionally, Hassabis advised students to use their university years not only to gain foundational knowledge but also to explore emerging fields in their own time. “Learn the basics through your formal education, but experiment in your spare time so you’re up to date when you graduate,” he said.

Hassabis says that it is not all doom and gloom. “Any time there’s disruption and change, there’s also a huge opportunity. We entered a period like that in the 1990s, with the internet, mobile, and gaming. I think we’re in another of those eras, which is exciting, but you’ve got to be very nimble and embrace the new technologies that are coming down the line,” he said.

Hassabis, whose work at DeepMind earned him Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024, also spoke about AI’s potential for scientific discovery. “I think we’re about to enter a new golden age of discovery, helped by AI tools — AlphaFold is the best example of that so far. I hope we look back in 10 years and it will be the first of many examples of tools that change areas of science and accelerate it massively,” he said.