Celebrating Professor Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize (and His Birthday)

In the past few days, Eva and I had the privilege of joining the University of Toronto delegation in Stockholm to celebrate University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, the 2024 Nobel Laureate in Physics. The events, organized by the University, were a fitting tribute to Professor Hinton’s groundbreaking contributions to AI, a technology that will transform our world in the decades to come.

The celebration was a blend of thoughtful discussions, historic venues, and memorable moments. It all began with a birthday party for Professor Hinton, followed by a fireside chat, an inspiring dinner at the iconic Vasa Museum, and a panel exploring Canada’s leadership in AI at the Embassy of Canada to Sweden. Each event underscored not only Professor Hinton’s remarkable achievements but also the global impact of Canadian innovation in AI and technology more broadly.

Rather than recount every detail, I’ll let the pictures and their captions tell the story of this extraordinary week. It was an incredible opportunity for us to honour a visionary scientist.

Eating birthday cake with University of Toronto President Meric Gertler and Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science at University of Toronto Melanie Woodin.
This was the chip that was built for Professor Hinton in the late 80s for him to test his artificial neural network.
The chip was developed before sub-micron technology was widely available. Professor Hinton believes it might be 3-5 microns, but even he wasn’t 100% sure. Upon closer inspection, it appears there were six neurons on the grid.
Taking a picture with U of T President Meric Gertler and Chancellor Wes Hall and Professor Leah Cowen.
We are dining in front of the unique and well preserved warship Vasa from 1628!
Fireside chat with University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, and Patchen Barss, science journalist, speaker and author.
Institute
Taking a picture with Untether AI co-founder Raymond Chik and Vector Institute CEO Tony Gaffney at the reception after the fireside chat.
An insightful panel moderated by Professor Leah Cowen. Panellists included Professor Eyal de Lara, Vector Institute CEO Tony Gaffney, Professor David Lie and Professor Amy Loutfi.
Ericsson’s Head of AI Jörgen GustafssonView Jörgen Gustafsson and Jason LaTorre, the Ambassador of Canada to Sweden.

P.S. This blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given.

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