This year, AI made its way into the Nobels.
The prize in physics was awarded to computer scientists John Hopfield, 91, and Geoffrey Hinton, 76, for their early role in the advancement of artificial intelligence. The chemistry Nobel went to computational biologist David Baker and AI experts Demis Hassabis and John Jumper of Google DeepMind, for their work on predicting protein structure using AI.
The awards, set to be handed over on December 10, have upset purists more dramatically than any since rapper Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer for Music (in 2018). Back then, classical musicians said they were prompted to look around and ask: Really, was there no one here you thought worthy?
This is perhaps understandable, given how incredibly precious these prizes are. There are, after all, 10 times more billionaires alive than there are living Nobel laureates (though that is admittedly also a reflection of our fraying economic systems).
But is it perhaps time for a significant shift?
Alfred Nobel instituted the awards because he wanted to be remembered as more than the "merchant of death" who invented dynamite. He wanted to leave behind an endowment that would push humanity to be better, do better, and celebrate the greatest minds of each generation.
He laid out five categories: Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Peace (the Economics Prize is handed out by a separate but affiliated panel).
Decades since they were first handed out in 1901, change has already crept in.
Bu hikaye Hindustan Times dergisinin December 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Hindustan Times dergisinin December 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
What The Biden Years Meant For New Delhi
Joe Biden gave India one of its biggest recent diplomatic wins. By being flexible in the formulation around the Ukraine war, he paved the way for the New Delhi Declaration and made the Indian G20 presidency a grand success.
Trump picks Indian-American Harmeet Dhillon as assistant AG
WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican leader and lawyer from California who backed the farmers' protests in 2020 and slammed India for allegedly plotting assassinations of Sikhs in North America more recently, as the assistant attorney general in charge of civil rights in the Department of Justice.
Strained Iran-Israel Relations A Matter Of Concern: Jaishankar
The tensions between Israel and Iran are a "source of concern" and India's diplomatic efforts are focused on addressing this issue, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.
Moscow grants asylum to Assad: Russian media
Syria's Bashar Assad and his family have arrived in Russia and have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source.
How minilateralism is reshaping global order
Notwithstanding United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump's warning to the BRICS nations of 100% tariffs if the grouping created a new currency to challenge the US dollar, the future of the international order remains decisively minilateral.
Deluge of deals to lift i-bank bonuses to record in 2024
India's dealmakers may win record bonuses for 2024, after fetching the decade's highest fee income driven by share sales, mergers and debt funding rounds.
A stall is born
\"Chai/Coffee. Garma-garam poori. Aloo ki subzi. Garam-garam parathe.\" It is all handwritten in black.
SCHOOL DEATH: AUTOPSY REPORT RELEASED, CAUSE STILL UNKNOWN
A week after a 12-year-old boy died after a scuffle with his classmate inside their class in Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Vasant Vihar, police said the preliminary autopsy report has been released but it did not specify the cause of death.
Man killed in E Delhi over suspected affair, accused absconding
A man allegedly stabbed to death a former neighbour in New Ashok Nagar, east Delhi, on Monday night over suspicions of the victim having an extramarital affair with his wife, police said.
‘India can play a key role in rebuilding America... Delhi must take Trump’s win as an opportunity’
Mukesh Aghi is the president and CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).