Demis Hassabis says "is a big part of who I am" about his Greek Cypriot heritage

Demis Hassabis, the London-born Nobel laureate whose father came from Famagusta, has made his Greek Cypriot heritage a focus while moving out of the top job at Google DeepMind and campaigning for outside scrutiny of powerful AI. According to people familiar with the talks, Hassabis has proposed an industry-funded, independently governed body to test cutting-edge AI systems before release, draw up shared safety standards, and respond if they display dangerous abilities, comparing its eventual international role to the IAEA. He has said he is glad Cypriots feel proud of him and that classical Hellenic civilisation has deeply shaped his outlook. The leadership transition comes as Google contends with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic and pressure to commercialize AI research.