Nobel Prize for Physics awards research in artificial intelligence
John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton were the laureate scientists
08/10/2024
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to two pioneers in the field of Artificial Intelligence, American John Hopfield, from Princeton University in the United States, and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton, from the University of Toronto in Canada. The award was presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday (8).
According to the award’s judging panel, the two researchers “made fundamental discoveries and inventions that enabled machine learning through artificial neural networks”.
The winning entries aim to create artificial intelligence models that reproduce human brain processing in an optimized and safe way. Thus, these machines can perform functions – such as memory and learning – by means of models that replicate the brain’s cognition. This system depends on neural networks, which are the tools responsible for the main machine learning processes.
The award-winning field of research integrates computer programs that perform, through mathematical models, tasks such as language translation, facial recognition, modern medical diagnostic imaging techniques, and allows, for example, the operation of GPT Chat itself.
Similar work is carried out at IMPA by the Pi Center. The initiative is aimed at providing mathematical solutions to real problems, using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. In partnership with DASA, the Pi Center has developed an algorithm capable of estimating the volume of amniotic fluid in pregnant women. With Rio City Hall, the team of researchers is developing an AI code to improve rainfall forecasting in the city. With Imazon (Amazon Institute for Man and the Environment), the Pi Center is developing an algorithm capable of automating the detection of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, using neural network technology.
The creation of IMPA Tech, the institute’s first undergraduate course, also aims to train students to enter the technology and innovation market effectively.
Award-winning research
The research of scientists Hopfield and Hinton began to stand out in the field in the 1980s. American John Hopfield created a neural network model that allows information to be stored, processed and reconstructed. This system became known as “associative memory”, in which it is possible to reconstruct data or characteristics of an image that may have been damaged, as the G1 report points out.
British scientist Geoffrey Hinton has discovered a new type of neural network. The invention allows specific elements in images to be identified autonomously, as shown in the Estadão report. The research allows for the classification of images, as well as the creation of similar images from previous data.
Conceived by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize offers laureates, in addition to a medal and diploma, a sum of 11 million Swedish kronor, around R$5.85 million.
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