149. Nobel Prize in Physics 2024: Statistical Physics at the Heart of AI Development

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton, came as something of a surprise, as it recognized their contributions to the development of artificial intelligence. However, a closer look at the awarded achievements reveals that they are fundamentally based on theoretical models from statistical physics. The seminar will present the context of statistical physics in which these discoveries are situated. It will discuss the applied formalism using the simplest example, the Ising model, and then show its generalizations that led to the honored discoveries.

Karol Capała – PostDoc in Personal Health Data Science Team Sano Centre for Computational Medicine, Krakow and Faculty of Computer Science, AGH Krakow