Helen King’s job is all about keeping AI safe as Google scales

As billions of people are exposed to AI in products such as Gmail, one of Google DeepMind’s longest-serving employees says that open conversations about safety and responsibility are critical.

More than a dozen years ago, U.K.-based game producer Helen King was about to take a new job at Ubisoft in Canada. She had already boxed up her possessions and was getting her visa in order when an opportunity at a London-based AI startup unexpectedly presented itself. King found it irresistible, even though she had no background in the technology—she’d even opted out of AI courses as a computer science student.