DeepMind research scientist Felix Hill died of depression at the age of 41. This news shocked the field of artificial intelligence. His death triggered widespread concern and deep reflection on work stress and mental health issues in the technology industry. Hill is an outstanding AI scholar who has made important contributions in the field of natural language processing, and his research results are widely cited. However, he passed away at the peak of his career due to long-term severe depression and suicidal tendencies. His story reminds us that while pursuing scientific and technological progress, we should pay more attention to the physical and mental health of scientific researchers and provide necessary support and assistance.
Recently, Felix Hill, a research scientist at Google DeepMind, passed away due to mental illness at the age of 41. This news triggered widespread concern and condolences in the AI circle. Felix has been battling severe mental health issues since early 2023, exhibiting severe depression and suicidal tendencies. Despite his remarkable achievements in academia, he ultimately could not overcome his inner pain. He participated in the creation of the natural language processing benchmarks GLUE and SuperGLUE. His academic contributions have been widely recognized, with a total of 19,680 citations. His death saddened many colleagues and friends, and also triggered deep thinking about the mental health of AI workers. His funeral is scheduled to be held in north London on January 11 and will be broadcast live. Let us collectively remember this outstanding scientist and pay attention to the mental health of ourselves and others.
His story reminds us that while pursuing scientific and technological progress, we must also pay attention to the mental health of scientific researchers, create a warmer and more inclusive working environment, and jointly protect every life.