“Ten years ago, the match in Seoul marked the start of the modern AI era. The legacy of those ‘divine moves’ is now opening a golden age of science to solve humanity’s hardest problems.”
Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, sat down again with Lee Sedol, a top-ranked professional Go player, at a special dialogue event at ‘Google for Korea 2026’ held April 29 at the Westin Josun Hotel in central Seoul. Calling Seoul “a symbolic place where the modern AI era began,” Hassabis looked back to 2016, when AlphaGo faced Lee in what was billed as a match of the century. “It feels like yesterday, and it also feels like 100 years ago,” he said, describing a decade in which AI moved from a single breakthrough to broad impact across science and industry.
‘10 years after AlphaGo’…AI relationship shifts from rivalry to collaboration
Under the theme “Back to Seoul: Where the future began,” the two men who once battled across a Go board met again as partners discussing how AI can help tackle major challenges.
Hassabis pointed to AlphaFold, an AI system for predicting protein structures that he said led to the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He said AI has moved beyond a specialized domain like Go and is now entering a stage where it can help solve scientific problems such as drug development and battery innovation.
“Ten years ago in Seoul, AlphaGo proved AI’s potential and laid the technical foundation for solving scientific challenges,” he said. “Today, AI is driving change in almost every area of science.” He added that the technology that began with AlphaGo is opening a path toward artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which he said could bring “a new golden age of discovery.”
Lee described the 2016 match as “the starting point that redefined the meaning of my life.” He said he once took pride in the creativity of his play but realized, after seeing AlphaGo, that he had been “a frog in a well.” “Everything has changed to the point that it feels like there is nothing left for human Go,” he said. Lee also warned that in the AI era, humans could lose the initiative in thinking, and said society needs to consider AI as a partner for collaboration.
After the talk, the two signed a Go board at the venue. If the board a decade ago symbolized a contest between humans and AI, the signatures underscored a shift toward cooperation.
Series of meetings with business leaders…expanding AI cooperation with Korean companies
Hassabis’ trip to South Korea has focused on expanding cooperation with major Korean companies. The day before, he met in succession with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo to discuss broader cooperation in semiconductors, humanoids and physical AI.
On April 29, a breakfast event titled the “2026 Leaders AI Roundtable” was also held with Google DeepMind Vice President Karim Ayoub and representatives from Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, Kakao and CJ. Google shared ways to apply its Gemini AI model to Korean companies’ hardware and services. In opening remarks, Google Korea President Yoon Koo said the company is expanding cooperation with Samsung Electronics across the Android ecosystem and is developing next-generation XR devices, including “Galaxy XR,” together from an early stage.
In the dialogue, Hassabis called South Korea “a country with both cutting-edge technological capabilities and strong potential.” “Korea has very strong semiconductor and robotics industries, and it has leading universities and research institutions, so it can become a true winner in the AI era,” he said.
He also offered an outlook for the next decade, saying AI is moving beyond screens into the physical world. “Over the next 10 years, AI agents will assist with everything from administrative work to daily life, and humans will focus on more creative work,” he said, predicting “a new era of prosperity.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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