Book excerpt reveals how young Demis Hassabis defined "doing your best": collapse at the finish line
chaitjo · x · 2026-10-25
Sharing from Sebastian Mallaby's new book The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence, the author highlights a childhood anecdote: Hassabis interpreted his father's "do your best" advice as meaning you only know you tried your hardest when you push yourself to collapse — like a marathon runner who falls over the line, "ideally hospitalized, but not dead." If you still have energy left, you could have tried harder. The post offers a window into the DeepMind CEO's childhood chess-era drive.
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