The News
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to scientists John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their work in developing tools that power today’s machine learning.
Hopfield, a professor at Princeton University, and Hinton, a professor at the University of Toronto, have worked since the 1980s to develop methods that are at the basis of AI as we know it today — machine learning that uses artificial neural networks, a technology inspired by the structure of the human brain.
“Although computers cannot think, machines can now mimic functions such as memory and learning. This year’s laureates in physics have helped make this possible,” the Nobel committee said.
Hinton, dubbed “the godfather of AI,” left Google in 2023 after a decade at the company to be able to speak freely about the risks posed by the rapid pace of development of the technology. “It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things,” Hinton told The New York Times after he quit.
He warned again about the dangers of AI during a call after receiving the Nobel Prize, cautioning that the technology may get “out of control.”