Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who both share Google, have been given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry following Geoffrey Hinton’s 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics.
John M. Jumper and Demis Hassabis were jointly granted a Nobel Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday “for protein structure prediction.” Currently, John Jumper is the Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, and Demis Hassabis is the company’s CEO. “The 50-year-old difficulty of predicting proteins’ complicated shapes has been solved by this year’s chemistry laureates, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, with their AI model, AlphaFold2,’ according to an X post by The Nobel Prize.
“Getting a Nobel Prize is an honor that lasts a lifetime. I express my gratitude to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, John Jumper and the AlphaFold team, the broader DeepMind and Google teams, as well as all of my former and current colleagues who helped to make this happen. AI has the unmatched potential to enhance the lives of billions of people, which is why I have devoted my professional life to its advancement. More than two million researchers have previously utilised AlphaFold to expand vital work, ranging from drug discovery to enzyme design. After receiving the prize, Hassabis released a statement saying, “I hope we’ll look back on AlphaFold as the first proof point of AI’s incredible potential to accelerate scientific discovery.”
“I express my gratitude to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for this remarkable accolade. We are incredibly grateful for this recognition, which comes from realising the long-held goal of computational biology to advance our knowledge of proteins and to support the amazing work of experimental biologists. It is an important example of how AI will accelerate science and eventually aid in the understanding of disease and the development of treatments. Jumper stated in a statement, “This is the work of an amazing team at Google DeepMind, and this award recognises their amazing work.”
A Nobel Prize in Physics was given to Geoffrey Hinton on Tuesday in recognition of his “foundational discoveries and inventions enabling machine learning with artificial neural networks.” Hinton was employed at Google (Google Brain) from 2013 to 2023. While the big credits go to the Laureates, this is also a big moment for Google.
The honour emphasises the significance of Google DeepMind, further establishing the company’s standing as a pioneer in AI research and its useful applications in science, especially in the cases of Demis Hassabis and John Jumper. In addition, Google’s dedication to developing AI technology is demonstrated by the Nobel Prize given to Geoffrey Hinton for his contributions to machine learning. When taken as a whole, these honours highlight Google’s influence over the direction artificial intelligence (AI) is taking and its potential to transform a number of industries, including biotechnology and healthcare.
“It’s really unique, and I still don’t quite understand it. “This is really the big one,” declared Demis Hassabis, the 2024 Chemistry Laureate. “The ultimate tool to aid scientists in our cosmic exploration could be artificial intelligence (AI) if it is developed properly.”
As members of Google’s DeepMind team, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper created AlphaFold2, a sophisticated AI model that accurately predicted the structure of about 200 million known proteins in 2020. This discovery represented a significant advancement in biology since it gave scientists a never-before-seen look at the components of life. The precision with which AlphaFold2 can model protein structures has transformed the fields of biochemistry, disease research, and drug discovery; it is a priceless tool for researchers worldwide. DeepMind’s position at the forefront of AI-driven scientific discovery was solidified by this accomplishment.
“John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton built techniques that helped establish the groundwork for today’s potent machine learning using tools from physics. Artificial neural network-based machine learning is currently revolutionising daily life in science, engineering, and daily life,” the Nobel Prize release reads.
Conversely, Google is interested in Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize triumph because of his important contributions to AI during his work with Google Brain. Hinton’s seminal research on neural networks and machine learning laid the groundwork for technologies that are now essential to advances in artificial intelligence. Deep learning techniques, which are currently widely employed in Google’s ecosystem of goods and services ranging from search engines to virtual assistants, were developed in large part thanks to his contributions.
His Nobel Prize win for these innovative accomplishments emphasizes the vital role Google plays in promoting AI innovation and solidifies the company’s reputation as a pioneer in cutting-edge AI research.