This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has gone to two computer scientists for their work on machine learning, research which formed the backbone of current AI development.

The prestigious prize has been jointly awarded to Professor John Hopfield, for developing an associative memory capable of storing and reconstructing images and patterns, and Professor Geoffrey Hinton, for creating a method that autonomously identifies specific properties within data.

Their research led to the creation of artificial neural networks inspired by the structures of the human brain, using nodes in place of neurons, with the ability to store and retrieve memories and learn from information fed into them, paving the way for the AI models we use now.

In recognising their efforts, Ellen Moons, chair 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”

The type of machine learning pioneered by Hopefield and Hinton underpins a vast array of technology in use today including climate modelling, development of solar cells, and analysis of medical images, as well as the modern internet and even our smartphones.

Professor Hinton, who is often referred to as the ‘Godfather of AI’ and earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, said that he was ‘flabbergasted’ to have won.

Last year, Hinton left his position at Google helping to develop the company’s AI systems, which he had held for over a decade. In detailing his decision to break with the tech giant, Hinton spoke out regarding what he viewed as the dangers of AI, saying he regretted his contributions to the field.

At the time, Hinton told the BBC that the looming dangers of AI chatbots were ‘quite scary’, and at risk of being exploited by malicious actors, a fear that is already being proved true with the rising threat of AI being used by cyber-attackers in phishing and ransomware attacks.

Despite his views, Professor Hinton expressed some pride in his achievement, saying he would ‘do the same again’, and even acknowledged his own use of the AI chatbot ChatGPT4, though maintains deep concerns over the future of AI technology, saying that we don’t yet truly understand the capacity, or limits, of neural networks. 

“We’re dealing with something that we have much less idea of what’s going to happen, and what to do about it,” said Hinton.

“I think it’s very important for people right now to be working on the issue of how we keep control. One thing government’s can do is force companies to spend a lot more money on safety research so that companies like OpenAI can’t put safety on the back burner.” 

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• AI “Godfather” Yoshua Bengio Joins UK Safety Initiative

Earlier this year, another ‘godfather of AI’, Yoshua Bengio, joined the board of the ‘Safeguarded AI’ project as its scientific director, aiming to embed safety mechanisms into global AI systems.

Speaking on his new role, Bengio claimed that, at present, technology companies cannot provide mathematical guarantees that AI systems will behave as intended, which could result in adverse outcomes for those developing and using the technology.