What Happens When AI Evolves 10x Faster Than We Can React?

So Google DeepMind’s CEO, Demis Hassabis, also known as “The Guy Who Built the AI That Made Chess Grandmasters Cry,” just said something absolutely casual: AGI could show up in five to ten years, and it’ll be “10 times bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and maybe 10 times faster.” Cool. Just another Tuesday where someone tells you the world is about to change forever while you’re still trying to figure out how to unsubscribe from that gym newsletter.

This isn’t about your smart speaker finally understanding your accent. This is about building AI that can think, learn, and problem-solve like a human, except it doesn’t get tired, doesn’t take bathroom breaks, and doesn’t waste three hours doomscrolling on TikTok. It’s the difference between giving your calculator a brain and giving it ambition.

Hassabis already did this once. His AlphaFold AI solved the protein-folding problem that science had been stuck on for 50 years. Like, this man looked at human biology and said, “You know what? Hold my machine learning.” So when he says AGI is coming, we should probably listen, even if we don’t fully understand how proteins fold (still don’t).

They're not building a smarter Siri. They're trying to make a thinking machine. A “digital brain” that can help cure diseases, fight climate change, run simulations for space missions, and maybe even explain your company’s Slack threads. And who are they racing against? Basically, everyone: ChatGPT, Claude, Meta, Microsoft, and probably that one startup in someone’s basement with $12 million in funding and zero working products.

If you're a CEO or founder, this isn't just innovation; this is survival mode. AGI could make your competitors 10x faster and 10x cheaper while your team is still arguing over which project management tool to use.

If you're a VP or manager, congrats, you're now responsible for teaching humans how to work alongside robots without spiraling into an existential crisis. You're leading a team, not just of people, but of people-plus-AI. Like The Avengers, but with more dashboards and slightly less punching.

If you’re a designer, developer, writer, analyst, or just someone trying to keep your job and your sanity, AI’s not going to replace you. But someone who uses AI will. So yeah, time to stop pretending this doesn’t affect you and start figuring out how to make it work for you.

And if you’re just a regular everyday American wondering why your kid’s homework app is suddenly smarter than your cousin Steve, surprise, it’s AGI sneaking into your life. It’ll help diagnose illnesses, plan your meals, write your emails, and possibly suggest outfits better than your ex ever did.

The last revolution gave us factories, cities, and modern life. This one might give us AGI. But are we building a better world or just a faster one? What kind of future should we be aiming for with AI? Hit reply, let's talk about it.

- Matt Masinga