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Old Elizabethan Demis Hasabbis, a world-leading artificial intelligence expert, is now using AI to speed up the development of new drugs which may help in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease, he told Kirsty Young when he appeared on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs.

His company, DeepMind, was bought by Google for a reported £400m in 2014 – and Demis said his motivation in selling was to enable the business to step up its work.

“For me, it was nothing to do with the money – in fact, our investors mostly didn’t want to sell even though it was a lot of money – it’s because I was convinced that by joining forces with Google, we could accelerate the success of the mission.” Demis explained that he was able to employ more expert researchers, thanks to Google’s injection of cash.

In March 2016, DeepMind hit the headlines when its programme, AlphaGo, beat a world champion player of the game, Go. DeepMind, of which he is CEO, is now using variants of those algorithms in its medical research into how proteins fold into a 3d structure. The 3d structure determines how the protein is going to act in the body, and faulty folding may be responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. “If you could take an amino acid sequence and just tell straightaway how the 3d structure is going to look just from that, then you would accelerate drug design by five or ten years.”

Demis said the “most exciting breakthrough” in which DeepMind is currently involved is bringing together two two types of AI: deep learning, which uses neural networks to mimic what the brain does, and reinforcement learning, which is about using a model of the world to make decisions. “These two systems together, which is our big innovation, gives you in some sense the rudimentary beginnings of a full intelligence.”

Demis was at QE from 1988–1990. He had a period of home schooling, and paid tribute to his “bohemian” parents, from whom he learned that “you don’t have to be constricted by social norms”. During these early years, Demis played chess and was at one time the world’s second highest-ranked player of his age, but says he had an epiphany at a large chess tournament in Liechtenstein when he realised that all the brainpower in evidence there could be put to better use for the benefit of humanity.

He took his A-levels aged 16 at Christ’s College in Finchley and won a place at Cambridge, but since he was too young to take it up, he began his initial career in computer gaming by working for the British company, Bullfrog Productions, after winning a competition which had a job there as its prize. Arriving the day after his examinations, he was too young to be legally employed, so was paid in cash. He was the lead programmer and co-designer of the highly successful Theme Park game.

When he eventually went to Cambridge, where he took a double first in the Computer Science Tripos at Queens’ College, he partied hard and had “an amazing three years”. He went on to take a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience where he deliberately chose to study topics where AI had failed so far: memory and imagination.

Demis, who celebrated his fortieth birthday in July 2016, fell in love with computing from an early age, buying a Spectrum ZX with his chess winnings. “I have always felt…that computers can be this kind of magical device that can extend the power of the mind – I think AI is the end point of that.”

Demis, who is himself a father and is married to a scientist involved in Alzheimer’s research, impressed Kirsty Young with his warmth, openness, thoughtfulness and lack of condescension, so she asked him if he had any advice for parents of very clever children. He replied: “I think what I would do is encourage them to explore heavily when they are young and really get a wide range of experiences, so encourage deepness and expertise in things, but not at the expense of everything else. Life is so rich; you should partake in all of it. I think the kind of skills I would teach children today are the ability to learn, rather than a specific thing that you are learning. One of the first things you should learn about…is about yoursel f; how do you work best, what do you want, what are your dreams, what are you excited about?

“It’s important to be very broad in your upbringing so that you are used to understanding different points of view…and learning how to deal with that sort of disagreement in a constructive way.”

The rules of Desert Island Discs allow interviewees to pick one book (besides the Bible and works of Shakespeare) and one luxury item. Demis choose Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – “it’s such a beautiful world he created” – and a solar-powered chess computer.

As usual for the programme, he chose eight pieces of music, naming as his favourite, Vangelis’ Tears in Rain, which was part of the soundtrack to the film, Blade Runner. “I could mull over those lines, I think – they are beautiful poetry – for a very long time.”

The other music was: Watermark, by Nicky Ryan, Roma Shane Ryan and Eith Ni-Bhraonain; Justified and Ancient, by Tammy Wynette with The KLF; The Narcotic Suite; Skylined, by The Prodigy; The Garden is Becoming a Robe Room, by the modern classical composer, Michael Nyman; Who Wants to Live Forever, by Queen; Motherboard, by Daft Punk, and First Step by Hans Zimmer.

Having built a successful career in geology, Nicholas Holgate is now devoting himself to spreading the word about the subject among the rising generations.

Since April 2016, Nicholas (OE 1995–2002) has been volunteering as a STEM Ambassador, working with schools, colleges and employers to encourage young people to enjoy and pursue the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Four months later, he became a member of the Young Professionals Committee of PESGB – the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain – for which he co-ordinates the society’s Young Professionals Mentoring Scheme.

And during the 2016 Autumn Term, Nicholas returned to QE as one of 15 old boys who gave an overview of their careers at QE’s annual Careers Convention, which is for Year 11 boys and their parents.

His fascination for geology first took root while he was studying it as part of his Geography GCSE. “Whilst I was studying for my A-levels, I discussed this interest with a number of teachers, who helped me identify ways of exploring the discipline further outside of QE. I took it upon myself, with help from others, to go to local geological societies to explore more about the subject.”

He paid tribute to teacher Malcolm Russell (Head of Chemistry and Head of Science): “Without his guidance and support, I would not be where I am today, and I owe Dr Russell in particular a huge debt of gratitude for everything that he did.”

After leaving School, Nicholas went to Bristol University, where he took an MSci in Geology, graduating in 2006. He also served as secretary to the university’s Geological Society.

He then worked for a coal-mining company based in Australia for a year, before taking an internship with Statoil in Norway. In 2009, Nicholas returned to education to study for a PhD at Imperial College London, which he completed four years later.

Since April 2014, he has been with Shell and is currently working as a London-based Exploration Geoscientist with the energy giant’s Global New Ventures operation. His work for Shell involves conducting exploration through regional geological and geophysical studies to identify new petroleum-bearing territory and guide future investment.

He explained that it is partly because of the support he received from QE teachers and partly because of the efforts he had to make as a teenager to find out about geology beyond the School walls that he is now so keen to help young professionals and students discover more about the discipline and its attendant career options. “I try to highlight and publicise the subject when I can, just in case there is a budding geologist who is fascinated by the subject and wants to know how to get into it as a profession.”

The 2017 Founder’s Day Fete brought 444 years of QE’s history to a successful, if sweltering, conclusion – and raised nearly £20,000 for the School.

The traditional climax of the QE year, Founder’s Day provides an opportunity to celebrate the School’s anniversary, with the fun of the fete in the afternoon complementing the formality of the morning’s Thanksgiving Service in Chipping Barnet Parish Church and of the Roll Call and the Reading of the School Chronicle.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was a most enjoyable day and I must convey my congratulations and thanks to the tireless Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s, whose hard work made it all possible. As ever, hundreds of our parents and supporters visited the fete, and this year I was also pleased to welcome a good number of our alumni there, especially from the younger generations.”

In his address at the service, guest speaker Ashley-James Turner (OE 2001–2008) highlighted the roles played by parents, teachers and boys in the School’s success. He told boys in the congregation: “On your shoulders rest the legacy and heritage of all those boys who sat where you are today and of all those boys who are destined to attend. Your dedication, hard work and inevitable success carries the reputation of this School onwards one year after another – so no pressure!” Ashley, who went up to Oxford to read Geography after his A-levels, is today Director of Business Development at CoreAzure, a leading Microsoft UK Partner specialising in Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

The service featured anthems from composers including Vaughan Williams, Tavener and Rutter performed by School musicians and the School and Chamber choirs. Bible readings were given by current School Captain Oliver Robinson, and h is predecessor, Varun Vassanth, while the Headmaster led the prayer of remembrance for old boys who had died recently.

The boys and staff then processed to Stapylton Field, where the Headmaster made the Roll Call in front of the Main Building. Next followed the reading of the School Chronicle, a regularly updated account of QE’s history. Its reading is a tradition inaugurated by Headmaster Ernest H Jenkins in 1930.

The afternoon fete represented the culmination of many months of planning by the dedicated FQE fete sub-committee. Stapylton Field was transformed into a vibrant and colourful scene of festivities, with parents helping to run many of the stalls. The fete was enlivened by performances from School musicians and many other attractions.

The afternoon also brings the annual Stanley Busby Memorial Cricket Match between the present First XI School cricket team and an XI of past pupils, which takes place on the Third Field at the rear of the School.  This year, the Old Elizabethan team carried the day, with a century by Kushal Patel (OE 2009–2016) contributing significantly to the victory.

Old Elizabethan Mike Ajayi’s signing and promotion of platinum-selling indie rock band alt-J was the key which unlocked a highly successful career in the music industry.

Mike (OE 1998–2005) now runs his own label imprint, AMF (All My Friends) Records, which is part of the global Universal Music Group led by Mike’s fellow OE, Sir Lucian Grainge (1971–1978).

The big break for Mike came in 2011 when he firstly joined independent label Infectious Music to work under the pupillage of industry legend Korda Marshall and signed alt-J, then a four-piece band from Leeds University.

Yet when he reflects on his life at QE, he says that it was rugby, not music, that was his main passion in terms of extra-curricular School activities. “I was never the most gifted musically at school as I’d usually be found on the rugby pitch when I had a spare moment.” He played the game competitively throughout the age groups and was in the First XV from Year 11, as well as representing the School at county level and playing for Saracens.

“Rugby was definitely a calming influence for me and helped me get rid of some of that surplus energy that would sometimes spill in to the classroom. I wouldn’t say I was by any means the naughtiest, but I definitely knew how to push my luck at times. I give a lot of credit to former master Mr [Tim] Bennett, who was a great mentor and guide for myself and a lot of the boys during my time at QE. He was both my head of year and rugby coach, and he definitely instilled the belief in me that anything was possible.

“I think, looking back, that’s probably what sticks with me most about my time at QE – it wasn’t just what we learnt in the classroom, but also the way the School and teachers enabled us to be confident, free-thinking, independent young men. Something I feel has served me well through to today.”

Although he didn’t excel at performing music at School, he did, however, find time to listen to it. “My love for music came mainly from School friends growing up; we’d listen to British bands such as Blur, Arctic Monkeys, The Streets and Bloc Party. At that time, TV channels like MTV Base and Channel U were quite prominent, so we listened to a lot US hip hop and R&B. Rappers and musicians like Eminem, Dr Dre, Missy Elliot, Talib Kweli or Maxwell definitely sound-tracked our youth, especially on those Saturday away games.”

It was when he went to the University of East Anglia that he began to find his own taste in music, discovering much more eclectic genres and going along to many live shows. “I eventually got in to writing reviews for a then up-and-coming music blog, Subba-Cultcha, which would involve often jumping on the National Express bus to review shows in London.”

In addition to this nascent career as a music journalist, Mike also had the opportunity to try his hand at live promotions: with the help of friends, he put on a local student club night in Norwich called Connected. “It was predominantly an old-school Garage and R&B night, and despite having a very limited budget, we were able to attract a host of UK urban acts, such as Wiley, Kano and Lethal B to name but a few. Although, it was a small venue, I found it great for discovering new urban music and meeting people in the industry. It also helped put a few extra pennies in my pocket whilst I navigated my way through university.”

It was around this time that Mike started to take the idea of working in music seriously: “I didn’t know where I saw myself fitting, but I just knew I wanted to be part of it.”

His first definite steps into a music industry career came in around 2009, when he took up an internship at Sony Music Entertainment. “I would be lying if there wasn’t a part of me that thought getting into the industry would instantly mean wild parties, and although that was the case on the odd occasion, it was actually probably the hardest period for me. I initially started out in their catalogue and compilations division in a role that involved me compiling all the required artist and legal information for music compilations.

“I did this for about two months before moving over to the newly reformed Jive records UK, home to English hip-hop artist Chipmunk and L.A. band Funeral Party. I guess that’s where I made my first transitions to becoming an A&R. [Artists and repertoire (A&R) is the division of a record responsible for talent-scouting and the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters.] At the time, my primary role was just being out and about scouting emerging talent and reporting back in to my boss. In order to do this, however, I had to take up various jobs ranging from working as a clerk in an eye hospital to weekend bar work, as the label only covered my expenses. My evenings would be spent travelling up and down the UK, sometimes attending three shows in a single night – and I’d still be expected to be in the office for 9:30am the next day. Although it was tiring and often quite lonely, I loved it!”

All those unpaid hours did eventually bring their reward, as Mike’s career began to take off rapidly when he joined Infectious and started working with Korda Marshall. “During my time there, I was really able to drill down on what is was to be an A&R. Beyond the talent-scouting element, I learnt about the processes that went in to making a record, as well the business side of the industry and actually signing talent. I had a good level of success, signing bands such as Superfood and Drenge, whilst also getting to work quite closely with Korda on ‘a&r-ing’ albums for The Temper Trap, These New Puritans, The Acid and Local Natives.

“Undoubtedly, my biggest achievement and involvement as an A&R came about when I signed alt-J in November 2011. We would go on to release their debut album An Awesome Wave, which went platinum in the UK (300,000+ album sales) and sold over 1 million copies worldwide. In addition to the sales, the album won the prestigious 2012 British Barclaycard Mercury Prize, and in 2013 it was named Album of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards. The band’s sophomore album, This Is All Yours, led to continued success, reaching number 1 in the UK charts and cementing them as one of the biggest British bands, who sold out multiple O2 Arena shows and Madison Square Garden.”

Success breeds success, and, in 2015, Mike’s glittering period with Infectious and alt-J, brought him the opportunity, along with a fellow Infectious colleague, to start his own label imprint under Virgin EMI (part of Universal). Virgin EMI is home to artists including Emelie Sande, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Kanye West, James Bay and Bastille.

“Through this deal, my label, AMF Records, is tasked with the role of focusing on the long-term development of emerging British artists. One of the first signings was the BBC Sound of 2016 longlisted and critically acclaimed artist, Loyle Carner, whose debut, Yesterday’s Gone, has been lauded as one of 2017’s breakthrough albums in the UK and abroad.” Now in its third year, the label boasts a host of new acts, such as Connie Constance, Marika Hackman and Jelani Blackman, all set for releases this year.

Mike, who is London-based, adds: “The plan going forward is to further cement AMF Records as a home for nurturing and developing acts, which could hopefully lead to me following in the footsteps of Lucian Grainge…

“I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to pursue a career in music and in no way has it perturbed my love for it, either. On a personal level, my focus has shifted to ‘giving back’ as I’ve tried to take a more active role in the industry.”

He plans to become involved in supporting events with current pupils at QE. And in the autumn, he will be working with the well-known academy, ELAM (East London Arts & Music), as part of its mentorship programme for aged 16 to 19.

“As well as that, I’ve also spoken on panels in the UK and US – and soon Australia, too – in the hope that I can provide greater insight into how younger generations can navigate their way through non-typical career paths.”

Old Elizabethan Demis Hassabis’s company, DeepMind, has made another major advance in artificial intelligence: its supercomputer program has taught itself to become the world’s best Go player, without any guidance from human beings.

DeepMind’s original AI program, AlphaGo, achieved prominence last year when it beat Lee Sedol, world champion at Go, the ancient and complex strategy game. To achieve the feat, the team at Google-owned DeepMind had programmed AlphaGo with millions of moves by past players. It took months for the machine to get to the point where it could take on a professional player.

However, the latest version, AlphaGo Zero, was taught the rules of Go, but given no extra instructions or examples. Instead, it learned to master Go simply by playing millions of games against itself. Within three days, it was good enough to beat the original program by 100 games to nil, and it has gone on to discover game-playing strategies and principles, some of which were genuinely novel.

Demis (OE 1988–1990) co-founded DeepMind in 2010. He sold it to Google for a reported £400m in 2014, but remains its chief executive.

He told journalists this week: “We’re quite excited because we think this is now good enough to make some real progress…even though we’re obviously a long way from full AI. Ultimately, we want to harness algorithmic breakthroughs like this to help solve all sorts of pressing real-world problems,” said Hassabis.

“If similar techniques can be applied to other structured problems, such as protein-folding, reducing energy consumption or searching for revolutionary new materials, the resulting breakthroughs have the potential to drive forward human understanding and positively impact all of our lives.”

DeepMind has already begun using AlphaGo Zero to study protein-folding and has promised it will soon publish new findings. Misfolded proteins are responsible for diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cystic fibrosis.

Demis’s colleague, David Silver, has overseen the team working on AlphaGo. “The new version starts from a neural network that knows nothing at all about the game of Go,” he said.

“The only knowledge it has is the rules of the game. Apart from that, it figures everything out just by playing games against itself. It shows it’s the novel algorithms that count, not the compute power or the data,” said Mr Silver, who pointed out that in just a few days a machine had surpassed the knowledge of this game acquired by humanity over thousands of years.

“We’ve actually removed the constraints of human knowledge and it’s able, therefore, to create knowledge itself from first principles, from a blank slate,” he added.

Old Elizabethan Farshad Dabeshkoy is now the Commercial Director for one of the world’s largest advertising exchanges – second only to Google – with a role that sees him regularly travelling across the Middle East.

He meets with clients which include some of the biggest companies in their sectors, consulting on their business objectives and, in some cases, on progressing to IPO (Initial Public Offering, or stock market flotation).

And Farshad (OE 1997–2005) has a Master’s in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University London as well as a degree in Business Management – Marketing from the University of Westminster.

Yet he was by no means always considered a high-flyer. In fact, asked to characterise the message arising from his life and career so far, he says: “I feel the ‘theme’ would be that you may not be the most academic person in the class – but with the right attitude, commitment and values, success is a guaranteed outcome.

“One of the key points during my time at QE was a very honest and uncomfortable meeting with my then-Head of Year, Mr [Liam] Hargadon.” Dissatisfied with his academic performance, Mr Hargadon said he planned to call Farshad’s parents in to the School.

It was, as Farshad recalls, an inauspicious thing to hear on a Monday morning, but it gave him the chance to show his mettle. “Whilst in this meeting, I pitched various ways I could get him to change his (already made-up) mind – and after 30 minutes we had agreed on a contract to be drawn up between the two of us whereby I would guarantee an improvement in grades… in return for Mr Hargadon not contacting my parents.

“I believe this was my first proper pitch and first official ‘close’ of a deal. To put it simply, this is a foundation in the role I fulfil today – but ‘Mr Hargadon’ has been replaced with global airlines, retailers and the biggest brands in the world!”

Another thing that Farshad acquired during his time at QE – in addition to his enduring nickname, Fash – was financial acumen. “I remember getting a detention for buying ‘penny sweets’ from the newsagent on the way to school, and trying to sell them for 2p. Simple case of supply versus demand: you can tell I was always thinking about profits!”

Like many schoolboys, he did not always appreciate the reasons for the rules that were in place. “It’s only now, as the father of a nearly four-year-old, that I understand and fully appreciate the value in being prompt (I had endless ‘bad notes’ for being late), or finishing homework on time, or not having your tie undone, or shirt untucked. One big lesson I learnt was not wearing too much hair-gel: as you’ll see from my picture it didn’t work out too well for me (!)”

Farshad says his current career owes much to the “creative tendencies” he demonstrated when growing up . “I was always more interested in Art, Music and Design. A major hobby of mine was always music production – I was working in recording studies and, from a young age, signing licensing deals with record labels both in Europe and in the Middle East.

“As a risk-averse individual, as time went on I felt more and more uncomfortable with the irregular income from music, and whilst studying Marketing at university, I decided that marketing and advertising were a much safer bet. I decided to give 100% to it, which led me to doing an internship at an online advertising network. It was one of the first of its kind: digital advertising wasn’t taken very seriously then, and more traditional mediums were holding by far the lion’s share of the market.”

After a year, the company offered him a permanent position, which involved his studying and working at the same time. “A lot of late evenings, but with the support of my wife (who I’ve known since I was at QE) raising our son, a one-year old at the time, I went on to also complete a Master’s degree, again by working all day – with university study all night!

After progressing through a couple of advertising and media-sector jobs, 2017 finds Farshad based in Dubai, employed by the Nasdaq-listed Criteo. He works with some of the largest retailers, airlines, online travel agencies and e-commerce platforms in the world, which gives him the opportunity to experience cities not only in the Middle East and Turkey, but as far afield as South Africa and Russia.

“I still feel there is a lot more to achieve and my commitment and motivation for further success is only stronger than before,” Farshad concludes. “Integrity and striving for greatness” have been key pillars not only in his own accomplishments, he says, but also in the success “that many of my friends from QE have gone on to experience”.

So while his own time at School was not without its hiccoughs, he says: “I have since been forever grateful for my parents’ decision to support and push me to attend and study at QE Boys – and here I have given just a few of the reasons that I would choose QE for my own son, too.”