AI Research Sweeping Nobel Prizes... "Feeling the AI Trend, the Day AI Wins a Nobel Prize Will Come"

AI Researchers Win Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry
"Recognized for Paradigm Shift in Scientific Research"
"AI Trend Confirmed... Path to Nobel Prize Opens for Korea"

The scientific and industrial communities are abuzz as artificial intelligence (AI) sweeps this year’s Nobel science awards. Beyond simply feeling that AI has become the dominant trend, there are even predictions that the day is not far off when AI itself, rather than AI researchers, will receive a Nobel Prize. Experts emphasize that, reaffirming the AI dominance theory, South Korea must actively invest in AI research and development (R&D).

On the 9th of this month (local time), the Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Professor David Baker of the University of Washington, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, and Dr. John Jumper. The day before, Professor John Hopfield of Princeton University and Professor Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research in machine learning. AI research swept two of the three Nobel science fields (Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry).

Professor Baker developed 'RoseTTAFold,' an AI capable of creating new proteins. CEO Hassabis and Dr. Jumper developed another protein structure prediction and design AI called 'AlphaFold.' The AI they developed is credited with drastically shortening the protein structure prediction process, which would have taken hundreds of years, opening a new chapter in drug development.

Professors Hopfield and Hinton, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics, were the first to devise the principles of artificial neural networks and deep learning, which form the foundation of AI learning. They applied the human brain’s information processing methods to data learning, laying the groundwork for today’s generative AI technology.

The scientific community is surprised by the groundbreaking awards. In particular, AlphaFold earned CEO Hassabis a Nobel Prize just four years after its 2020 paper was published. This breaks the Nobel tradition of recognizing achievements only after 20 to 30 years from the actual research. Professor Ahn Hyun-chul of the Department of Management Information Systems at Kookmin University explained, “Finding candidate substances in drug development is difficult, but AI has significantly shortened this process,” adding, “The Nobel Prize recognized that the research paradigm has been revolutionized.”

As AI establishes itself as a driving force behind scientific and technological advancement, there are even forecasts that AI itself will one day receive a Nobel Prize. Professor Kim Jin-hyung, Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at KAIST, said, “New theories will continue to be created and proven by AI,” and predicted, “A time may come when we have to give Nobel Prizes to AI.”

The industry is encouraged, acknowledging the AI dominance theory. Kim Seong-hoon, CEO of Upstage, celebrated on social media, saying, “AI is impacting every aspect of our lives faster than imagined,” and called the Nobel Prize win “a victory for everyone involved in AI.” Lee Dong-yoon, CEO of Anthr Reality, said, “The conservative scientific community’s recognition of AI will also influence market evaluations of AI bubble theories,” and expressed hope that “through various evaluations, this will be an opportunity to properly establish the direction of the AI industry.”

With AI’s influence recognized, challenges remain significant. First, in the scientific community, there is a growing call for South Korea to also challenge for Nobel Prizes. Expectations are rising that South Korea, once a “Nobel Prize desert,” can win if there is active support. AI has accelerated research speed, with CEO Hassabis achieving a Nobel Prize in his 30s. Professor Baker of the University of Washington released 'RoseTTAFold' for protein structure decoding in 2021, and in 2022 unveiled 'RoseTTAFold Diffusion,' an AI capable of generating proteins as desired. The Nobel Committee has supported research conducted in just 3 to 4 years. Professor Baek Min-kyung of Seoul National University, who worked in Professor Baker’s lab and is the first author of the 'RoseTTAFold' paper, pointed out, “Research speed has rapidly increased with the introduction of AI,” but added, “However, it is not easy to secure large-scale graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for AI research, within the university.” This underscores the need for government or private sector support for innovative and creative research worthy of a Nobel Prize.

In the industry as well, there is consensus that government and private sectors must join forces. An industry insider emphasized, “In South Korea, where absolute resources such as capital and talent are lacking, government and private cooperation is essential,” and stressed, “From a long-term perspective, research and investment into AI’s potential and risks must be more actively pursued.”