In photos: Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel week in Sweden – and at U of T

It was a whirlwind week for the University of Toronto’s Geoffrey Hinton, who travelled to Sweden to officially accept the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics alongside a jam-packed schedule of receptions, lectures, talks, ceremonies, banquets and media engagements.

The U of T University Professor emeritus of computer science known as the “godfather of AI” received the prestigious award during a formal ceremony at Stockholm Concert Hall – the main event during Nobel Week, held from Dec. 6 to 12 in Stockholm and Oslo.

He shared the honour with John J. Hopfield of Princeton University for foundational work that paved the way for today's rapid advances in artificial intelligence, which some have called “the next industrial revolution.”

From the days leading up to the ceremony to the celebrations overseas and back home in Toronto, here are a few highlights and behind-the-scenes glimpses of a historic moment for Hinton and the rest of the U of T community.  

After arriving in Stockholm on Dec. 5, Hinton takes part in a panel discussion at the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) on AI development, humanity and the future. He is joined by IVA fellows Kristina Höök, Anders Sandberg and Staffan Truvé, and moderator Anette Novak.

On Dec. 6, Hinton signs the guest book at the Nobel Prize Museum, where he donated an early Boltzmann machine – a chip about the size of a postage stamp that can be used to recognize elements in data.

Continuing a Nobel tradition dating back to the event’s 100th anniversary in 2001, Hinton signs the underside of a chair at the Nobel Prize Museum’s restaurant, joining the names of fellow laureates etched into history.

During a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Dec. 7, Hinton pauses to snap a personal photo, capturing a moment of his historic week.

In his Nobel Prize lecture in physics on Dec. 8, Hinton talks about how decades of his fundamental research, and that of his co-laureate, paved the way for the development of artificial neural networks and machine learning. 

Hinton explains the significance of the Boltzmann machine, which he based on an invention of his co-laureate that was known as the Hopfield network.

Hinton and John J. Hopfield shake hands after delivering their Nobel Prize lectures.

Since the 1960s, the laureates have participated in a roundtable discussion for television’s Nobel Minds. At the taping on Dec. 9, Hinton was joined by David Baker, Demis Hassabis, Gary Ruvkun, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. 

The following day, Hinton officially accepted his Nobel Prize in Physics.

Hinton poses with Ulrika Gustafsson, his Nobel attaché, prior to the formal ceremony on Dec. 10.

The event, which was livestreamed from Stockholm Concert Hall, was watched around the world.

Congratulations to Canada’s own Geoffrey Hinton — “Godfather of AI”, Professor Emeritus, and now, Nobel laureate. pic.twitter.com/CON0AtXokq

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 10, 2024

On Dec. 10 in Toronto, U of T community members shared in the moment via Nobel ceremony watch parties that were held across U of T’s three campuses.

Hinton receives his Nobel Prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during the ceremony.

Hinton sits next to Anna Sjöström Douagi, acting CEO of the Nobel Foundation, during the Nobel Prize banquet on Dec. 10.

“If the benefits of the increased productivity can be shared equally, it will be a wonderful advance for all of humanity,” Hinton told the audience, before repeating his warnings about the near- and longer-term dangers posed by rapid, unfettered progress of the technology. See the complete text of Hinton's acceptance speech.