Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to Researchers for Pioneering Work in Machine Learning

The Nobel Committee for Physics announced this Tuesday that Geoffrey E. Hinton and John J. Hopfield were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”

Mark Pearce, a member of the Nobel Committee of Physics, told CNN that the researcher’s work paved the way for all the AI technology we have today.

Hopfield—a Princeton professor—created the system to associate, restore information, and act as an associative memory, and Hinton—a computer scientist at the University of Toronto and former Google employee— a method to discover properties in data that later evolved to artificial neural networks. The award for the researchers includes 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Hinton declared to be “flabbergasted” by the recognition.

The committee explained on X more about the decision and the impact of the researcher’s work. “They have shown a completely new way for us to use computers to aid and to guide us to tackle many of the challenges our society faces,” states the post. “Thanks to their work humanity now has a new item in its toolbox, which we can choose to use for good purposes. Machine learning based on artificial neural networks is currently revolutionizing science, engineering, and daily life.”

On the social media platform, many users complained about the experts’ legacy and its relation with physics. “Ok, but next year go back to awarding actual physics,” wrote one user. “Important work but not physics,” said another.

However, according to the New York Times, the committee explained that Dr. Hopfield and Dr. Hinton “used tools from physics to construct methods that helped lay the foundation for today’s powerful machine learning.”