Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "godfather of Artificial Intelligence," supervised Alberto Paccanaro during his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto

Recognized as the "godfather of AI," Geoffrey Hinton was announced as one of the 2024 Nobel Prize winners in Physics | Photo: Reproduction

The School of Applied Mathematics at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EMAp) celebrates the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Geoffrey Hinton, supervisor of professor Alberto Paccanaro's doctoral research. The award, announced on October 8, recognized two researchers for their groundbreaking contributions to the development of methods that underpin Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the organization responsible for the prize, Geoffrey Hinton developed an innovative method for autonomously identifying properties in data, enabling tasks such as detecting specific elements in images. The other laureate, John Hopfield, created an associative memory capable of storing and reconstructing images and other complex patterns, expanding the boundaries of AI.

Paccanaro, who has been a member of the FGV EMAp faculty since 2020, first met Hinton in 1996 when he was accepted into the Ph.D. program at the University of Toronto (UoT), where the Nobel laureate taught. The two worked together for five years, both in Toronto, Canada, and in London, England, where Paccanaro had the opportunity to witness Hinton founding the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at University College London (UCL).

“We spent three years in London, and it was an extremely enriching experience. He is an inspiring person with remarkable intelligence. Working alongside him was a constant learning process, even though the challenges were often significant”, Paccanaro recalls.

Alberto Paccanaro developed his thesis, which proposed new methods for solving the problem of generalization in relational data, under the supervision of Geoffrey Hinton | Photo: FGV EMAp

The researcher, who obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2002 with a thesis entitled "Learning distributed representations of concepts from relational data using linear relational embedding", expressed his surprise and joy upon learning that his supervisor had received the Nobel Prize in Physics. Although Hinton is widely known as a computer scientist, the award reflects his contributions that transcend this field, encompassing methods that challenge traditional concepts in physics.

"Hinton developed models inspired by physical systems, which enabled a new understanding of artificial neural networks. These networks have revolutionized machine learning across various sectors, such as healthcare, finance, and technology, and were fundamental to the development of AI", Paccanaro explained. He added that many of the technologies we use today, such as automatic translators and Large Language Models like ChatGPT, are possible thanks to neural networks, a field in which Hinton was a pioneer.

"He was intensely dedicated to the development of these technologies, and much of the progress in the area is due to his work and that of his research group. The Nobel was a very well-deserved choice, recognizing his groundbreaking contributions" he stated.

 

Born in London, Geoffrey Hinton served as a professor at the University of Toronto (Canada) and also worked as a consultant for Google | Photo: Reproduction

Hinton impacted the way the FGV EMAp professor approached his scientific research. “I learned not only how to select important scientific problems but also how to approach them with the necessary rigor. Hinton taught me how to present results and write papers clearly and precisely. His contagious energy, countless ideas, and unparalleled enthusiasm made all the difference in my education”, he emphasized.

Even after years of academic collaboration, Paccanaro and Hinton remain in contact, exchanging ideas and reflections on the future of artificial intelligence. At FGV EMAp, Paccanaro continues to apply the principles and techniques he learned from Hinton to drive interdisciplinary research, combining biology, data science, and artificial intelligence. He leads the PaccanaroLab with studies that explore new theoretical/statistical machine learning techniques to solve problems in computational biology, medicine, and pharmacology, keeping Hinton's legacy of innovation and the pursuit of transformative solutions alive.

The presence of a professor trained under the guidance of a Nobel laureate reinforces the relevance of FGV EMAp as a cutting-edge research center, capable of attracting talent and offering high-quality education.