Google DeepMind's Lila Ibrahim says workers must test AI tools themselves as automation grows

Workers anxious about automation need to begin using artificial intelligence directly rather than waiting for it to change their jobs around them, according to Google DeepMind's chief AI readiness officer.

Lila Ibrahim, who moved into the post earlier this year after serving as the laboratory's chief operating officer, said public agency matters far more than predicting every capability of future models. The role itself was created not to measure DeepMind's internal technical preparedness, she noted, but to help external institutions, schools, and workforces adapt as models leave research labs and enter daily commercial use.

"You have to start using AI yourself and create the time and space to do it," Ibrahim told CNBC. "You don't have to be the smartest in the room."

How DeepMind runs internal work with AI

Ibrahim said her own daily routine relies heavily on generative models to summarise briefing papers and dense project materials. Having started her career in electrical engineering designing Intel's Pentium processor, she noted that fast synthesis cuts out administrative drag without eliminating critical thinking.

Across her teams, Ibrahim evaluates AI integration through three recurring questions: how staff are currently using the tools, what would help them use them more, and where they intentionally choose not to use them. That final question, she argued, defines where human talent remains irreplaceable.

"That's what we need to hire for; we need to reward," she said, noting that unique judgement and relational problem-solving should be cultivated rather than sidelined. "AI can help automate all of my tasks, but it cannot automate my Tuesdays."

Classrooms and younger generations

Beyond corporate offices, Ibrahim warned that educational institutions risk leaving students out of decisions about tools that will define their careers. With two teenage daughters of her own, she argued that curriculum planners and teachers must lead classroom experiments together, teaching pupils both what the technology cannot do and what constitutes responsible use.

Students will inherit systems currently under development without having had a voice in how those tools are applied, she said. Rather than attempting to shield classrooms from the shift, schools need to foster technical literacy and resilience.

Ibrahim maintained that her confidence in taking the readiness post rested on whether the societal outcome would ultimately prove worthwhile. "I don't think I could do this job if I didn't believe that the benefits will outweigh the risks," she said, adding that shaping the technology responsibly depends entirely on including the communities it directly affects.