Google DeepMind founder says AI could cure all disease by 2035

By Matthew Griffin Enhanced Humans and Biotech 19th November 2025

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

AI is already designing drugs and vaccines in minutes, genetic therapies in hours, which makes this achievable. But access to those cures is a different matter …

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There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a crucial role in every industry. While the boon and bane is still a big debate, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis highlights the goodness of AI tools. In a recent interview, Hassabis emphasised that AI will be able to cure all diseases in another 10 years which may be possible given the speed at which it’s been able to develop new novel drugs.

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In his claims, he indicated that AI will not just cure but will be the end of all diseases. Speaking during the CBS’ 60 Minutes interview Hassabis said, “So, on average, it takes, you know, ten years and billions of dollars to design just one drug. We can maybe reduce that from years to maybe months or maybe even weeks. Which sounds incredible today, but that’s also what people used to think about protein structures. And it would revolutionise human health, and I think one day maybe we can cure all diseases with the help of AI.”

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When questioned about whether AI could eventually eliminate all diseases, the 48-year-old British scientist replied, “I think that’s within reach. Maybe within the next decade or so, I don’t see why not.”

In fact, DeepMind’s AlphaFold model astonishingly mapped over 200 million protein structures within a single year—a feat that, according to Hassabis, would have otherwise taken “a billion years of PhD time.” He emphasised that grasping these structures is crucial for uncovering how diseases function and for crafting precisely targeted treatments.

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“If we know the function, then we can understand what goes wrong in disease… And we can design drugs and molecules that will bind to the right part of the surface of the protein.”

As soon as the video went live, it was flooded with different type of reaction. On the same note, the rival, CEO of Perplexity AI, Aravind Srinivas, has also praised Hassabis, calling him a “genius”. He also proposed that to achieve this claim, Hassabis should be given all the resources in the world.

Out of courtesy, Hassabis replied “Thanks Aravind.”

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.