Two Google DeepMind Scientists Received The 2024 Nobel Chemical Award

Demis Hassabis and John Jumper (photo: Google)

JAKARTA - One of the founders and CEOs of Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs Demis Hassabis, and Google DeepMind Director John Jumper were jointly awarded the 2024 Nobel Chemical Prize.

This award was given because of their work in developing AlphaFold, an innovative AI system that predicts the 3D protein structure of its amino acid sequence. David Baker was also awarded his work in a computational protein design.

Before AlphaFold, predicting protein structure was a complicated and time-consuming process. However, once there was AlphaFold, Google said that there were more than 2 million scientists and researchers from 190 countries with powerful tools to make new discoveries.

Because according to the search giant, as more and more scientists adopt the AI used in everything from data building, to experimental simulations, drug design, complexity modeling, finding new solutions, we will continue to see fundamental scientific breakthroughs in the years to come.

"Receiving the Nobel Prize is an honor for life. I dedicate my career to advancing AI because of its unmatched potential to improve the lives of billions of people," said Demis Hassabis in a statement on his Google blog.

Demis also hopes that AlphaFold's presence can be a strong proof of the extraordinary AI's potential to accelerate scientific discoveries.

Computional biology has long promised to create practical insights that can be used in real-world experiments. AlphaFold fulfills this promise. In front of us there is a new universe of insight and scientific discoveries made possible by the use of AI as a scientific tool," Baker continued.

AlphaFold's contribution to science has also been widely praised, and among its confessions is The 2023 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, The 2023 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, The 2023 Canada Gairdner International Award, The 2024 Clarivate Citation Laureate award, and The 2024 Keio Medical Science Prize Award.