这就是计算机科学家获得诺贝尔物理学奖的原因 【中英文翻译版】

Here's why computer scientists got Nobel for physics

【原文】

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics is announced in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct 8, 2024. The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics went to two scientists, John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton, for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

After the Nobel Prize in physics went to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton "for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks", many asked why a prize for physics has gone to computer scientists for what is also an achievement in computer science.

Even Hinton, a winner of the 2018 Turing Award and one of the "godfathers of AI", was himself "extremely surprised" at receiving the call telling him he had got the Nobel in physics, while the other recipient Hopfield said "It was just astounding."

Actually, the artificial neural network research has a lot to do with physics. Most notably, Hopfield replicated the functioning of the human brain by using the self-rotation of single molecules as if they were neurons and linking them together into a network, which is what the famous Hopfield neural network is about. In the process, Hopfield used two physical equations. Similarly, Hinton made Hopfield's approach the basis for a more sophisticated artificial neural network called the Boltzmann machine, which can catch and correct computational errors.

The two steps have helped in forming a net that can act like a human brain and compute. The neural networks today can learn from their own mistakes and constantly improve, thus being able to solve complicated problems for humanity. For example, the Large Language Model that's the basis of the various GPT technologies people use today dates back to the early days when Hopfield and Hinton formed and improved their network.

Instead of weakening the role of physics, that the Nobel Prize in Physics goes to neural network achievements strengthens it by revealing to the world the role physics, or fundamental science as a whole, plays in sharpening technology. Physics studies the rules followed by particles and the universe and paves the way for modern technologies. That is why there is much to thank physicists for the milestones modern computer science has crossed.

【翻译】

2024 年诺贝尔物理学奖于 2024 年 10 月 8 日在瑞典斯德哥尔摩宣布。瑞典皇家科学院周二表示，2024 年诺贝尔物理学奖授予两位科学家 John J Hopfield 和 Geoffrey E Hinton，以表彰他们利用人工神经网络实现机器学习的基础性发现和发明。[图/新华社]

在诺贝尔物理学奖授予 John J. Hopfield 和 Geoffrey E. Hinton 之后，许多人问为什么物理学奖颁给了计算机科学家，因为他们也是计算机科学的一项成就。

即使是 2018 年图灵奖得主和“人工智能教父”之一的 Hinton 本人在接到电话告诉他自己获得了物理学诺贝尔奖时也“非常惊讶”，而另一位获奖者 Hopfield 则说“这太令人震惊了”。

实际上，人工神经网络的研究与物理学有很大关系。最值得注意的是，Hopfield 通过使用单个分子的自旋转来复制人脑的功能，就好像它们是神经元一样，并将它们连接在一起形成一个网络，这就是著名的 Hopfield 神经网络的意义所在。在这个过程中，霍普菲尔德使用了两个物理方程。同样，Hinton 将 Hopfield 的方法作为更复杂的人工神经网络（称为玻尔兹曼机）的基础，该网络可以捕获和纠正计算错误。

这两个步骤有助于形成一个可以像人脑一样进行计算的网络。今天的神经网络可以从自己的错误中吸取教训并不断改进，从而能够为人类解决复杂的问题。例如，作为人们今天使用的各种 GPT 技术基础的大型语言模型可以追溯到 Hopfield 和 Hinton 形成和改进其网络的早期。

诺贝尔物理学奖授予神经网络成就，而不是削弱物理学的作用，而是通过向世界揭示物理学或整个基础科学在提高技术方面的作用来加强物理学的作用。物理学研究粒子和宇宙遵循的规则，并为现代技术铺平了道路。这就是为什么现代计算机科学跨越的里程碑有很多值得感谢的物理学家。