Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries related to neural networks – Technologies – Science and technology

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2024 was jointly awarded to John Hopfield from the American Princeton University and Geoffrey Hinton from the University of Toronto

On the big screen are British computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton (right), who researches neural networks, and physicist John Hopfield.

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was jointly awarded to John Hopfield of Princeton University in the US and Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto “for significant discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” This was announced on Tuesday shortly before noon by the Secretary General of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, Hans Ellegren, reports TASR.

As detailed by the Royal Academy of Sciences, Hopfield created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and data patterns. Hinton, in turn, invented a method by which the machine can independently find certain properties in the data and then perform individual tasks, such as identifying certain specific elements in images.

The Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, Ellen Moons, explained that the laureates, using methods from statistical physics, created artificial neural networks that act as an associative memory and can find patterns in large packages of data. It is already used in face recognition technologies or translators.

“The work of the laureates represents a huge contribution. We use artificial neural networks in physics in many areas, for example in the development of new materials with specific properties,” added Moonsová. The laureates will also share a financial reward of 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately one million euros).