AI pioneers Hinton, Hopfield win Nobel Prize in Physics

Stockholm: The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”

An artificial neural network is designed to mimic the brain. Inspired by biological neurons in the brain, artificial neural networks are large collections of “neurons”, or nodes, connected by “synapses”, or weighted couplings, which are trained to perform certain tasks. An artificial neural network processes information using its entire network structure. The inspiration initially came from the desire to understand how the brain works.

Three scientists won last year’s physics Nobel for providing the first split-second glimpse into the superfast world of spinning electrons, a field that could one day lead to better electronics or disease diagnoses.

Outside the sometimes controversial choices for Peace and Literature, Physics often makes the biggest splash among the prizes, with the list of past winners featuring scientific superstars such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi.

The 2023 award went to French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, French scientist Pierre Agostini and Hungarian-born Ferenc Krausz for their work with the tiny part of each atom that races around the centre and is fundamental to virtually everything: chemistry, physics, our bodies and our gadgets.

The physics prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (USD 1 million) from a bequest left by the award’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. It has been awarded 117 times. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.