STOCKHOLM — Two researchers from Google (GOOG, Financial) DeepMind, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, were conferred the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their ground-breaking work in protein structure prediction, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday, Oct. 9. The award sheds light on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern research and implications of Google's DeepMind on future innovation.
The pair earned the prestigious award for their work on AlphaFold2, an AI model that can effectively predict the structure of nearly 200 million known proteins. Consequently, the Academy deemed the breakthrough as a high watermark in advancing fields such as drug development and environmental science. Moreover, researchers using AlphaFold2 have used the AI model for a better understanding of antibiotic resistance and developed enzymes capable of breaking down plastics.
More importantly for Google, the recognition marks a critical milestone for its DeepMind division as a major player in reshaping the future of health and sustainability. It's important to note that the award comes just a day after former Google employee Geoffrey Hinton was honored for his contributions to AI in physics.
