Machine learning has earned a big win this year as American scientist John Hopfield and Brit Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for research that laid the ground for artificial intelligence (AI).
Professor Hinton has been one of the biggest names in this field being accredited by many as the “godfather of artificial intelligence”. He made big headlines last year when he quit his job at Google to be able to speak about the dangers of the technology he pioneered.
Even during the Nobel press conference, Hinton, aged 76, spoke heavily about the potential negative consequences that the world has to worry about from AI development, particularly the “threat of things getting out of control”.
Hinton is credited for his invention of a method that can automatically identify properties in data and perform tasks like finding specific elements in pictures, as stated by the awarding academy.
John Hopfield, aged 91, is a professor at Princeton University and was recognized by the award-giving body for his work in the creation of associative memory that can store and rebuild images and other types of patterns in data.
“This year’s two Nobel Laureates in physics have used tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today’s powerful machine learning,” the academy said in a statement. “Machine learning based on artificial neural networks is currently revolutionising science, engineering and daily life.”
The Noble Committee for Physics reiterated some of Hinton’s comments noting that the rapid development of AI has also raised concerns about our future.
“Collectively, humans carry the responsibility for using this new technology in a safe and ethical way, for the greatest benefit of humankind,” Ellen Moons, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said.
Both individuals will share a prize of 11 million Swedish kroner (around KES 137 million). Despite the concerns, this is a big win for AI and machine learning as the tech has rapidly grown over a very short period.
