Two scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics “for fundamental discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”
Princeton University professor emeritus John Hopfield has designed an associative memory that is able to store and reconstruct images and other kinds of patterns in data. Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” discovered a way to autonomously find properties in data, leading to the ability to identify certain elements in pictures.
“The success of this year’s physics laureates rests on the foundations of physics. They have shown us an entirely new way to use computers to help and guide us in tackling many of the challenges facing our society,” the committee wrote on X.
Thanks to their work, humanity now has a new item in its toolbox that we can use for good purposes. Machine learning based on artificial neural networks is currently revolutionizing science, engineering, and daily life.”
However, Hinton has become concerned about machine learning and its potential impact on society. He was part of Google’s deep-learning artificial intelligence team (Google Brain, which merged with DeepMind last year) for several years before resigning in May 2023 so he could “speak openly about the risks of AI.”
At the time, he expressed concern that generative AI was fueling a tsunami of misinformation and had the potential to eliminate jobs, as well as the possibility of fully autonomous weapons emerging.
Although Hinton acknowledged the possibility that machine learning and AI would improve healthcare, “it will surpass people in intellectual capacity. We have no experience of what it’s like when there are things smarter than us,” he told reporters, according to The New York Times.
However, Hinton, a Turing Award winner and professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, was “surprised” to learn that he had become a Nobel laureate.