dpa
Stockholm
US scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian researcher Geoffrey Hinton have won the Nobel Prize in Physics for creating the "building blocks of machine learning,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday.
Hopfield works at Princeton University and Hinton, who is known as the "godfather of artificial intelligence,” works at the University of Toronto.
"This year’s two Nobel Laureates in Physics have used tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today’s powerful machine learning,” the academy said in a press release.
Ellen Moons, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said that their 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.”
Machine learning had "become part of our daily lives for instance in facial recognition and language translation,” Moons said.
The pair’s work created the "building blocks of machine learning that can aid humans in making faster and more reliable decisions.”
In a call with journalists after the announcement, Hinton said AI will have a huge impact on humanity. "It would be comparable to the Industrial Revolution.” "Instead of exceeding people in physical strength, it’s going to exceed people in intellectual ability.”
Nobel community calls for prudence using AI After the announcement of the prize, members of the Nobel Committee for Physics also spoke of the dangers of AI.
Moons noted that the rapid advance in AI had raised "concerns about our future” as humans and about the ethical use of the technology.