[Digital Today intern reporter Seungah Yoo] Google has reshuffled the core leadership of its artificial intelligence organisation.

Multiple foreign media outlets including Business Insider reported on Aug. 5 that Google CEO Sundar Pichai (순다르 피차이) said DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis (데미스 허사비스) will step down and move to a new role as Alphabet chief scientist overseeing long-term AI research.

The reshuffle also includes a change of role for Jeff Dean (제프 딘). Dean, a leading engineering figure at Google, is stepping aside from his current role to launch a new initiative with Sanjay Ghemawat (산제이 게마와트). Google is facing competitive pressure from OpenAI and Anthropic in key areas such as AI coding. After the announcement, Alphabet shares fell as much as 5 percent in intraday trading.

The industry has assessed the appointments as a signal that Google is trying to bind together its scattered AI strategy more tightly. Pouladian (풀라디안), the founder of AI infrastructure research company BEP Research, saw Google as saying it "now seems to be moving to win." He said bringing Amin Vahdat (아민 바흐다트), a designer of Google's TPU infrastructure, closer to the centre is a move to simplify the whole organisation, adding that "internal politics will decrease, computing resource allocation will improve, and the AI strategy will come together into one."

Some also interpreted Hassabis' role change as formalising a shift already under way. British journalist Sebastian Mallaby (세바스찬 맬러비) assessed the move as "formalising something that had been happening informally." He pointed out that Hassabis has for some time served as the public face of Google AI, while Koray Kavukcuoglu (코라이 카부크추오글루) has effectively led Google DeepMind research. He also said Hassabis placed importance on safety issues to the extent that he fought Alphabet for 3 years to introduce external oversight in the AI deployment process, and viewed the move as a phase in which he refocuses on that area.

Concerns were also raised about DeepMind's independence and safety. Zvi Mowshowitz (즈비 모쇼비츠), the founder of AI policy research organisation Vals AI Research, said the changes are not a good signal for AI safety. He said it can be read as Hassabis moving into a symbolic role and Dean stepping back from the front line, and argued it could effectively end expectations that DeepMind had maintained meaningful safety assurances or independence from other organisations within Google.

There were also voices reaffirming Google's long-term AI investment and research achievements. Vinod Khosla (비노드 코슬라), a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, assessed that Google has made big bets on AI since the period when it was developing self-driving car unit Waymo, and was a real source of AI acceleration. Khosla said Google's leadership, including Pichai and Larry Page (래리 페이지) and Sergey Brin (세르게이 브린), deserves recognition for believing in the technology, investing and increasing speed.

Some also said the appointments could lead to a change in DeepMind's standing. Technology journalist Tae Kim (태 킴) named Dean and Hassabis as the two most important AI executives at Google and said it could be a major turning point for DeepMind, as one is leaving the company and the other is stepping back from day-to-day operational leadership at DeepMind.

The core of the reshuffle is resetting the central axis of research, infrastructure and organisational operations. It will be crucial how much Google can raise decision-making speed and resource allocation in the AI race, while also determining what structure will carry forward the safety principles DeepMind has emphasised.

Dean is also known to be leaving the company to set up a new company with Google senior fellow Sanjay Ghemawat. Google plans to invest in Dean's company.