‘My job is to worry’: Google DeepMind COO Lila Ibrahim on the responsibility of building AI

Lila Ibrahim, the first COO for AI company Google DeepMind, says bringing in outside perspectives to the next frontier of artificial intelligence is more important than ever.

Lila Ibrahim’s first love is not computers. Somewhat surprisingly for the first ever COO of Google DeepMind, it’s not even artificial intelligence, nor is it coding. Ibrahim’s first love is engineering, and it’s that background, she says, that makes her so valuable at a job that’s all about computing. “I became an [electrical] engineer because I thought it was a combination of math, art and science. And along the way, I actually really enjoyed working with people. And what I’ve enjoyed about my engineering career is the ability to bring all of that together and bring a unique view into everything that I do,” Ibrahim told CNN’s Anna Stewart during a recent interview at Google DeepMind headquarters in London. “Being an engineer has taught me to ask the question of what, why, and what are we trying to achieve? So that if you can really understand a problem, you can figure out what the right solution is rather than just throw a bunch of solutions at an undefined problem.” As professional problem-solver, part of her job “is to worry,” Ibrahim said. “What are the risks, and how do we mitigate them? And also to think about the opportunities, and how do we support them? … I feel like I had almost a moral calling to be in this role and all of a sudden, my very weird, circuitous background kind of makes sense with where I’m sitting right now.” One thing she has learned, Ibrahim said, is that she’s not very good at predicting the future: “But I’m very good at building it.”