# Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, says ChatGPT's viral 2022 launch triggered a "ferocious commercial pressure race" that nobody was prepared for.

*fintech · news · 2026-04-11 · Times of India*

## Key points

- Demis Hassabis revealed all major AI labs had ChatGPT-like systems, but OpenAI released theirs first.
- Hassabis originally wanted AI kept in labs longer for scientific breakthroughs, not rapid consumer deployment.
- He believes the viral launch of ChatGPT triggered an unplanned, intense commercial and geopolitical AI race.
- Hassabis warns that building effective AI guardrails is becoming harder as systems grow more autonomous.
- Attempts to create formal AI safety oversight structures at Google failed, shifting influence to internal actors.

**Companies:** Google
**Countries:** United States, China

[Read the full story on Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/google-ai-ceo-demis-hassabi-on-how-chatgpt-launch-in-november-2022-changed-everything-for-ai-labs-and-not-for-good-says-it-started-a-dangerous-/articleshow/130187033.cms)

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