The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to two genuine pioneers of AI – John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton. Their work on neural networks laid the foundation for modern AI and made technologies such as machine learning and chatbots possible in the first place.
Geoffrey Hinton – the “godfather of AI”
Hinton looks at his creation today with mixed feelings. “We have no experience of what it is like when things are more intelligent than we are,” he stresses. He sees the enormous possibilities – and the risks.
The foundations of today's AI
In the 1980s, Hopfield and Hinton developed the foundations of neural networks and the Boltzmann machine, inspired by the structure of the human brain. That technology has transformed healthcare, materials research and science.
Progress or risk?
The question remains: how will AI change our lives? Hinton left his job at Google Brain in order to speak freely about potential dangers. The world is watching closely.
