2024 Nobel Prize Honors Chemistry and Physics Contributions in AI
Nobel Prize Recognition for AI in Chemistry and Physics
The award this week of Nobel prizes in chemistry and physics to a small number of artificial intelligence pioneers affiliated with Google has stirred debate over the company's research dominance and how breakthroughs in computer science ought to be recognized.
Google has been at the forefront of AI research, but has been forced on the defensive as it tackles competitive pressure from Microsoft-backed OpenAI and mounting regulatory scrutiny from the U.S Department of Justice.
Chemistry Winners: Demis Hassabis and David Baker
- On Wednesday, Demis Hassabis—co-founder of Google's AI unit DeepMind—and colleague John Jumper were awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry.
- They were recognized alongside U.S. biochemist David Baker for their work decoding the structures of microscopic proteins.
Physics Recognition: Geoffrey Hinton
- Former Google researcher Geoffrey Hinton won the Nobel prize for physics on Tuesday.
- He was honored alongside U.S. scientist John Hopfield for earlier discoveries in machine learning that paved the way for the AI boom.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, a computer scientist and advisor on AI to the United Nations, told Reuters that, while the recipients’ work deserved recognition, the lack of a Nobel prize for mathematics or computer science had distorted the outcome.
This article was prepared using information from open sources in accordance with the principles of Ethical Policy. The editorial team is not responsible for absolute accuracy, as it relies on data from the sources referenced.