The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "godfather of artificial intelligence", for "foundational advances in machine learning with artificial neural networks".
Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the winners on Tuesday in Stockholm.
American Hopfield, an emeritus professor at Princeton University, created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data, the academy said.
Hinton, a British-Canadian professor at the University of Toronto, in the 1980s helped to develop a technique that has been instrumental in training machines how to “learn”, and has previously raised concerns about AI's risks.
Speaking at the ceremony in Sweden, Prof Hinton said he was “flabbergasted”, adding: “I had no idea this would happen. I’m very surprised.”
"I think it will have a huge influence. It will be comparable with the industrial revolution. But instead of exceeding people in physical strength, it's going to exceed people in intellectual ability."
He also said the advancement in AI would result in "huge improvements in productivity" but humanity had to worry about possible "bad consequences, particularly the threat of these things getting out of control."
Prof Hinton, born in London in 1947, spent a decade at Google but quit in 2023 to speak freely about the risks of AI.
In 2018, he was awarded the Turing Award in recognition of his research breakthroughs.
When asked whether he had any regrets about his work on AI, Prof Hinton said: “There are two kinds of regret – there is regret where you feel guilty because you did something you knew you should not have done, and then then there is regret where you did something that you would do again in the same circumstances.”
He said that he “would do the same again” but was “worried that the overall consequence of this might be systems more intelligent than us that eventually take control”.
Machine learning is a key component of AI – a technology that allow machines to perform tasks that mimic human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning and problem-solving.
"This year’s physics laureates’ breakthroughs stand on the foundations of physical science", the academy said. "They have showed a completely new way for us to use computers to aid and to guide us to tackle many of the challenges our society face.
"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 revolutionising science, engineering and daily life."
Ellen Moons, chairwoman of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said: “The laureates’ work has already been of the greatest benefit. In physics we use artificial neural networks in a vast range of areas, such as developing new materials with specific properties.”
Previous physics prize winners include Marie Curie in 1903 for her work on the discovery of radiation, and Albert Einstein who won in 1921 for his advances in the understanding of theoretical physics.
On Monday, Nobel Prize week kicked off when US citizens Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA.
Their research was based around studying the make-up of a 1mm-long roundworm, known as C.elegans, which despite being tiny possesses cell types such as nerves and muscles found in larger, more complex animals.
Last year, the physics prize was jointly awarded to three scientists - Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier - from USA, Germany and Sweden respectively, who study electrons in atoms during the tiniest of split seconds.
The prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by its creator, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.
Nobel announcements continue with the chemistry prize on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on October 14. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Liverpool 5
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Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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