Shane Legg (born 1973 or 1974) is a machine learning researcher and entrepreneur. With Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, he cofounded DeepMind Technologies, later acquired by Google and now known as Google DeepMind, where he works as the chief AGI scientist. He is also known for his academic work on artificial general intelligence (AGI), including his doctoral thesis supervised by Marcus Hutter.
Legg's research has focused on theoretical models of intelligent machines and the long-term risks posed by advanced AI. He has been a prominent voice in discussions about AI safety and existential risk, signing statements and giving interviews on the topic over more than a decade.
Early life and education
Legg attended Rotorua Lakes High School in Rotorua, on New Zealand's North Island. He completed his undergraduate studies at Waikato University in 1996. Also in 1996, he obtained his MSc degree with a thesis entitled "Solomonoff Induction", supervised by Cristian S. Calude at the University of Auckland.
His academic trajectory continued with a PhD at the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research (IDSIA), a joint research institute of USI Università della Svizzera italiana and SUPSI. There he worked on theoretical models of super intelligent machines, specifically the AIXI framework, with Marcus Hutter. He completed his doctoral thesis, "Machine Super Intelligence", in 2008.
Research interests
In the early 2000s, Legg, along with Ben Goertzel, re-introduced and popularized the term "artificial general intelligence" to describe an AI capable of performing practically any cognitive task a human can do. At that time, discussing AGI was considered fringe within the academic community. Legg's work helped establish AGI as a legitimate field of study, distinct from narrow AI applications.
Legg is also known for his longstanding concern about existential risk from AI. In 2011, he highlighted these concerns in an interview on LessWrong, and in 2023 he signed the statement on AI risk of extinction. His perspective has influenced how the broader AI community approaches safety and alignment research.
Career
Before pursuing his PhD and cofounding DeepMind, Legg held several software development positions at private companies, including the big data firm Adaptive Intelligence and the startup WebMind, founded by Ben Goertzel. These roles provided practical experience that later informed his work in AI research and entrepreneurship.
After completing his PhD in 2008, Legg undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in finance at USI, followed by a fellowship at University College London's Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit. It was at University College London that he first met Demis Hassabis in 2009, while Legg was a postdoctoral researcher there.
DeepMind
In 2010, Legg cofounded the startup DeepMind Technologies along with Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman. The company focused on developing general-purpose learning algorithms. DeepMind Technologies was acquired by Google in 2014, and after merging with Google Brain in 2023, the company became known as Google DeepMind.
According to a 2017 article, a significant part of Legg's role as chief scientist involved supervising recruitment, deciding where DeepMind should focus its efforts, and leading the company's AI safety work. As of July 2023, he works at Google DeepMind as the Chief AGI Scientist, a position reflecting his continued focus on long-term AI development.
Awards and honors
Legg was awarded the $10,000 prize from the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence for his PhD completed in 2008. In the 2019 Birthday Honours, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the science and technology sector and to investment.
His contributions to machine learning and AI research have been recognized both within academia and industry, cementing his reputation as a key figure in the development of advanced AI systems.