Photo/Illutration Professor John Hopfield of Princeton University, left, and professor Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto were awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physics on Oct. 8. (Princeton University via AP and AP Photo)

When the foil lid of a yogurt container is peeled off, the lump of yogurt clinging to the back of the lid turns into a ball and slips off.

The development of this design was inspired by lotus leaves, the densely hairy surface of which repels water. And to mimic this, the developers made tiny bumps on the foil surface.

That is one example of imitating nature and applying it to science and technology.

Another is the development of neural networks, which mimic the workings of the human brain and teach that to computers.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two scientists who developed neural networks that enabled artificial intelligence.

Geoffrey Hinton, one of the laureates and a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, did not start his career as a physicist.

When introducing himself, Hinton likes to say he failed at psychology and dropped out of physics.

Perhaps this background explains how his mind works.

The idea of mimicking the human brain has existed since the 1950s in the AI field. Many scholars dismissed it as wacky, but not Hinton.

It was his belief, he said, that no idea should be ditched until it was proven false. In other words, “Old ideas are new.”

AI is widely utilized today, including in the development of drugs. This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry also went to three scientists who used AI to decode the structure of proteins and create new ones.

On the other hand, Hinton himself is worried about the rapid development of AI.

“We have no experience with what it’s like to have things smarter than us,” he said at a recent news conference. “We also have to worry about a number of possible bad consequences, particularly the threat of these things getting out of control.”

That’s the foresight of the “Godfather of AI.” Until it is proven wrong, we cannot dismiss it out of hand.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 11

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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