Two scientists have been awarded the Nobel in Physics for developing AI

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded Princeton University professor John Hopfield, and Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for “fundamental discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning through artificial neural networks.”

Hopfield, 91, used tools from physics to create a collective memory that can store and create patterns, known as the Hopfield network, according to a press release.

British-born Hinton, 76, an early pioneer of artificial intelligence, used the Hopfield network to create a different type of machine that can learn to recognize features in data.

“This year’s Nobel Prize laureates in physics have used the tools of physics to create fundamental ways to learn about today’s powerful machines,” the school said in a statement.

Hinton made headlines last year when he quit his job at Google to speak openly about the dangers of AI during a press conference after the award was announced.

“We have no experience of what it’s like to have things smarter than us,” he said by phone at a Nobel press conference, Reuters reported. “It’s going to be great for a lot of things, in areas like health care. But we also have to worry about the number of possible side effects. Especially the threat of these uncontrollable things.”

Hopfield and Hinton will split the $1.1 million prize.