Author: Miguel Ángel Muñoz, catedrático Universidad de Granada, director del Instituto "Carlos I" de Física Teórica y Computacional
When: January, 21st - 12PM (Coffee at 11.30AM)
Where: Salón de Actos, ICMM
Abstract:
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 has been awarded jointly to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton "for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks." Their work is deeply rooted in long-standing scientific efforts to understand the functioning of the brain. Understanding collective computation in brains and machines draws heavily on concepts and techniques from statistical physics and the theory of complex systems, some of which were pioneered by the 2021 Nobel Prize laureatr Giorgio Parisi.
In this talk, I will discuss the key ideas and achievements of Hopfield, Hinton, and their predecessors, illustrating how their contributions laid the foundation for the extraordinary advancements we see today in artificial intelligence. I will also put these ideas within the context of computational neuroscience, emphasizing recent progress in modeling human brain function using biologically-plausible neuromorphic mechanisms and comparing these approaches to standard machine learning paradigms. Finally, I will reflect on the broader question of "what is physics" and explore its current ever-growing frontiers.
