Nobel Prize Award ceremony 2024

**Welcome to the Stockholm Concert Hall** in Sweden, where the Nobel Prize Award ceremony takes place every year on the 10th of December. We are awaiting the formal start of this ceremony, which begins at 4 o'clock in the afternoon here in Stockholm, sharp. The moment is upon us as we anticipate the arrival of the Nobel laureates and the Royal Family.

**Opening of the Ceremony**
Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are the first to enter, taking their seats in the first row below the stage. Following them are Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill. We gather today, as we do every year on December 10th, which marks the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death—the inventor who inspired this prestigious award. *Drumroll for His Majesty the King!*

Thank you. The Swedish Royal Anthem plays, signifying the Royal Family's arrival on stage. Next, we eagerly await the scholars we have come to honor today, the Nobel laureates. Music for this event will be performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

**Nobel Foundation Chair's Speech**
Now that everyone is gathered here, we will hear a speech from Professor Astrid Söderberg-Widding, Chair of the Board of the Nobel Foundation.

"Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Esteemed Nobel Prize Laureates, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Nobel Foundation, it is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you all to the 2024 Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony.

In particular, I wish to welcome the Nobel Prize laureates, their families, and friends. Today in Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, also known as Hibakusha, for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.

This Japanese grassroots movement, made up of survivors of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has been advocating for an international nuclear taboo for almost 80 years. For decades, nuclear arms were considered the primary threat to humankind. However, while these witnesses continued to remind the world of this, trust in arms treaties and international developments led to this crucial issue falling into oblivion.

Today, as nuclear threats are being expressed anew in connection with wars and conflicts involving nuclear powers, the Nobel Peace Prize takes on an existential dimension. Earlier this year, a number of Nobel Prize laureates signed the Minow Declaration 2024 on nuclear weapons, urging all nations to protect human civilization by ensuring that nuclear arms are never used again."

**Importance of Research and Humanitarian Efforts**
"The atomic bomb also reminds us that fundamental research, while often representing the pinnacle of scientific achievement, can be exploited for harm. It is crucial that through free, fundamental research, science continues to explore and expand the frontiers of human knowledge, paving the way for future applications and development.

This year’s scientific breakthroughs awarded in Science and Medicine address key issues:

1. The Physics Prize was awarded for using dynamical systems to understand mechanisms of memory and for laying the foundations of artificial intelligence.
2. The Chemistry Prize recognized advancements that utilize artificial intelligence for predicting protein structures and for the computational design of proteins.
3. The Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for discovering an essential complementary process that explains how identical genetic information leads to different cells.

These accomplishments have already made significant contributions to the greater good of humanity. The profound consequences introduced by genetic technologies and artificial intelligence underscore the need for trustful, rule-based international collaboration.

**Literature and Economic Impact**
The Literature Prize this year acknowledges a deep exploration of human vulnerability set against a backdrop of historical trauma, where the abyss is never far from the desire for transformation. Lastly, the Prize in Economic Sciences was granted for quantitatively assessing the influence of a country's institutions on its prosperity, particularly relevant against the current backdrop of autocratization and waning democracies.

In the context of a range of interconnected challenges—including climate change and geopolitical tensions—we reside in an era characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Alfred Nobel's insightful testament, which has gathered us here, remains profoundly relevant today.

The scientific prizes honor fundamental research, yet all awards in their diversity also address today’s global challenges. The laureates have paved various pathways; science, literature, and peace provide different avenues to tackle these pressing issues. They collectively remind us that our future is not dictated by blind destiny. Rather, it offers hope; change is within our power to pursue."

**Musical Interlude**
Before presenting the first prize to the physics laureates, we will enjoy a musical piece by Richard Wagner: *Nicht eine Heile gräß ich wieder, Fried gräß ich dich, gewitter Ruh...* This performance features soprano soloist Ingella Brindberg.

**Presentation of the Physics Prize**
Now, a presentation speech by Professor Ellen Moons.

"Your Royal Highnesses, esteemed Nobel Prize laureates, ladies and gentlemen. As you arrived today, some faces were immediately recognizable, while others might have eluded you, causing frustration as you scanned your memory for past encounters. Memory association acts as a scaffold to comprehend new information.

In 1949, Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb articulated, *'neurons that fire together, wire together,’* which described the mechanism of learning. This year’s Nobel Prize laureates in Physics, John Hopfield and Jeffrey Hinton, drew inspiration from the networking of neurons in the human brain. They developed artificial neural networks, a key component for machine learning, allowing computers to learn without explicit programming.

In 1982, John Hopfield established that the physics describing how atomic magnetic moments align in solids can also represent interactions among neurons. He created a dynamical model for associative memory based on networks of binary nodes where values are determined by the weighted sum over all nodes. Like a ball rolling down a hill, the dynamics drive the system into the valleys of the energy landscape, leading to stationary states where memories reside.

As a theoretical physicist rooted in solid-state physics with a passion for complex biological and neural processes, John Hopfield's work exemplifies interdisciplinary thinking. Jeffrey Hinton extended Hopfield's model by integrating concepts from statistical physics, culminating in the *Boltzmann machine*, named after the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann.

This model comprises multiple layers of nodes and is trained using given sets of patterns. Once trained, it generates new patterns akin to those in the learned set. Geoffrey Hinton is prominent in creating efficient learning algorithms and has fostered the development of deep and dense neural networks. Such networks excel in sorting and interpreting vast data and self-improvement based on accuracy.

Today, artificial neural networks find utility across diverse fields spanning physics, chemistry, and medicine, and also impact our daily lives. As these technologies can yield prompt responses, it is our collective responsibility to ensure they are employed safely and ethically.

Professor John Hopfield and Professor Geoffrey Hinton, you have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks. It is an honor to convey our warmest congratulations on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

**Award Ceremony**
I now ask you to step forward to receive your Nobel Prizes from His Majesty the King."

*John Hopfield is called first to receive his award. He is greeted with a standing ovation. Following him, Geoffrey Hinton receives his physics prize amid cheers, acknowledged by many as a pioneer in the AI debate.*

**Transition to the Chemistry Prize**
"This year’s Physics Prize also serves as a prelude to the Chemistry Prize, which has intriguing AI applications. We will now hear from Professor Johan Åkvist."

"Your Royal Highnesses, esteemed Nobel Prize laureates, ladies and gentlemen. Proteins are essential macromolecules that facilitate the chemistry of life by catalyzing necessary reactions and functioning as signaling molecules, receptors, pumps, antibodies, and tissue building blocks.

Their remarkable diversity lies in their structure—proteins are polymers formed by various combinations of 20 amino acids that fold into specific three-dimensional shapes. Understanding how proteins operate hinges on determining their structures. This 50-year-old puzzle has long been termed the grand challenge of biochemistry.

Progress in predicting protein structures was gradual until a breakthrough occurred in 2020 with the development of the AlphaFold2 computer program by Demis Hassabis, John Jumper, and their team. This ingenious piece of engineering produced exceptional results in protein structure prediction, utilizing vast experimental data stored in sequence databases to identify patterns among amino acid sequences, yielding astonishingly accurate structural models.

AlphaFold has indeed revolutionized structural biochemistry. Congratulations to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper. Your groundbreaking research in computational protein design and structure prediction has transformed these fields, providing access to predicted models of millions of known proteins.

I invite you now to step forward and receive your Nobel Prizes from the hands of His Majesty the King."

*David Baker is the first to receive his Chemistry Prize, followed by John Jumper, solidifying their groundbreaking contributions. Their innovative work exemplifies the true spirit of the Nobel Prize.*

**Musical Interlude**
As we move on to the Physiology or Medicine Prize, let us enjoy another musical interlude.

**Presentation of the Physiology or Medicine Prize**
Next, we have Professor Richard Sandberg from the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet.

“Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, esteemed Nobel Prize laureates, ladies and gentlemen. For a moment, I invite you to look around this majestic hall as though we are inside a human cell. Picture the orchestra behind me, each musician representing a single gene. In a cell, approximately 20,000 genes cooperate to perform cellular traits and functions.

Effective conducting is essential for such a vast orchestra. Although it has long been understood that proteins called transcription factors conduct these performances, this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognizes a novel class of conductors known as microRNAs that regulate cellular activity.

The laureates, Victor Ambrose and Gary Ravkin, discovered microRNAs while investigating organ development in a one-millimeter worm. Their persistent research revealed how microRNAs bind to messenger RNA, consequently reducing protein levels. This crucial discovery has broad implications across multicellular life.

On behalf of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet, I extend warmest congratulations to Professors Ambrose and Ravkin and invite you to step forward to receive your Nobel Prize from the hands of His Majesty the King."

*Following the awards, soloist Ingela Brindberg performs "A Letter Arrived" set to music by Gunnar de Frumerie, enriching this moment with lyrical beauty.*

**Presentation of the Literature Prize**
Now, we turn our attention to the Literature Prize for 2024, presented by Ellen Matson, a member of the Swedish Academy.

"In Han Kang's literary works, two colors emerge prominently: white and red. The white symbolizes snow, a protective veil between the narrator and the world, paralleling sorrow and death. Contrarily, red embodies life and pain.

Kang's voice oscillates between softness, addressing themes of cruelty and loss. The stark imagery—blood flowing from bodies after a massacre—symbolizes the haunting legacy of historical trauma. The question arises: how do we address the deceased, the abducted, the lost ones?

Through her narratives, Kang explores memory and knowledge—how we remember and the weight of our responsibility to those who are no longer with us. It’s a dialogue about survival, resilience, and the subtle power of remembrance that permeates the human condition.

Dear Han Kang, on behalf of the Swedish Academy, it is my privilege to convey heartfelt congratulations on winning the Nobel Prize in Literature 2024. Please come forward to receive your award from His Majesty the King."

**Musical Interlude**
Before moving to the final Prize in Economic Sciences, let's enjoy one last musical interlude, performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under conductor Johannes Gustafsson.

**Presentation of the Prize in Economic Sciences**
Now we approach the final accolade, the Prize in Economic Sciences, with a presentation speech by Professor Jan Torell.

“Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, esteemed laureates, ladies and gentlemen. Not long ago, Sweden was considered a poor nation with institutions benefiting only a select elite. Today, however, it stands as a beacon of inclusive institutions and economic prosperity.

For countries like Sweden, it may seem self-evident that institutions cultivate growth. Nevertheless, this assumption is far from obvious. How can we ascertain it isn’t the other way around—that economic prosperity allowed for the establishment of inclusive institutions?

This year's laureates addressed this empirical conundrum using history's great interventions, specifically European colonization. Their exploration of the diverse institutions stemming from colonial experiences yielded robust evidence supporting the notion that institutions drive growth.

The laureates, Professors Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson, highlighted how understanding institutions’ role is vital, particularly for closing the ever-growing income gap between the world’s richest and poorest countries.

It is my honor to congratulate you on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and invite you to step forward and accept your prizes from His Majesty the King."

*The hall fills with applause as the laureates step forward, each representing visionary insights into economic structure and institutional impact.*

**Conclusion of the Ceremony**
With the conclusion of awards, the Swedish National Anthem plays, followed by *Queen of Shiva’s Festivity March* from *The Prodigal Son* by Hugo Alvén, signaling the departure of our honored guests from the auditorium.

Thank you for joining us today in Stockholm on the 10th of December for the 2024 Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony. Your presence honors the esteemed achievements of this year's laureates, each making strides toward a better world.