Pioneers in AI Win 2024 Nobel Physics Prize

At 91, Mr Hopfield became the third oldest person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics, while the youngest laureate in physics is Lawrence Bragg, who was 25 years old when he was awarded the Nobel Prize together with his father in 1915.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.

The Academy disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Tuesday.

According to the statement, this year’s physics laureates, Messrs Hopfield and Hinton, used tools from physics to construct methods that helped lay the foundation for today’s powerful machine learning( Artificial Intelligence, AI).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence, such as recognising speech, making decisions, and identifying patterns among others.

The term (AI) is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of technologies, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing (NLP).

The popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) has raised concerns within the global economy. While many view AI as a tool for enhancing productivity and efficiency, it has also faced widespread criticism due to the potential threat of job displacement.

On Tuesday, the award organisers noted that Mr Hopfield created a structure that can store and reconstruct information, while Mr Hinton invented a method that can independently discover properties in data and which has become important for the large artificial neural networks now in use.
“Although computers cannot think, machines can now mimic functions such as memory and learning. The 2024 Nobel Prize laureates in physics have helped make this possible. Using fundamental concepts and methods from physics, they have developed technologies that use structures in networks to process information,” the award organisers noted.

The award comes with a prize of 11 million Swedish crowns, estimated at $1.1 million and to be shared by the two winners.
Founded in 1739, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is an independent organisation whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society.

The academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines, the statement noted.

“The laureates’ work has already been of the greatest benefit. In physics we use artificial neural networks in a vast range of areas, such as developing new materials with specific properties,” said Ellen Moons, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

“While machine learning has enormous benefits, its rapid development has also raised concerns about our future. Collectively, humans carry the responsibility for using this new technology safely and ethically, for the greatest benefit of humankind.”

Nobel prizes in Physics since 1901

At least 118 Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded since 1901, although the award was not awarded on six occasions in 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941, and 1942.

“If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation’s restricted funds,” the organisers noted, stating only a few prizes were awarded during World War I and II.

Between 1901 to date, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to 227 laureates. 47 physics prizes have been given to one laureate only.

33 physics prizes have been shared by two laureates, while 38 physics prizes have been shared between three laureates.

At 91, Mr Hopfield became the third oldest person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics, while the youngest laureate in physics is Lawrence Bragg, who was 25 years old when he was awarded the Nobel Prize together with his father in 1915.

Last year’s physics prize was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier for their work in creating ultra-short pulses of light that can give a snapshot of changes within atoms, potentially improving the detection of diseases, a Reuters report noted.

Physics is the second Nobel to be awarded this week, after U.S. scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the medicine prize for their discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation, shedding light on how cells specialise.