The Nobel Prizes will be announced against a backdrop of wars, famine and artificial intelligence. Wars, a refugee crisis, famine, and artificial intelligence could all be recognized with Nobel Prizes. The prize week coincides with the Oct. 7 anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which began a year of bloodshed and war across the Middle East.
The literature and science prizes could be immune, but the Peace Prize, which recognizes efforts to end conflict, will be awarded in an atmosphere of ratcheting international violence — if awarded at all. Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, expressed concerns about the world’s conflicts, hostility, and confrontation, suggesting that this might be a year where the Nobel Peace Prize should be withheld to draw attention to the negative global trends.
Withholding the Nobel Peace Prize is not unprecedented, having been suspended 19 times in the past, notably during world wars. Henrik Urdal, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, believes that withdrawing the prize in 2024 would be a mistake, emphasizing its importance in promoting and recognizing significant work towards peace. Civil grassroots groups and international organizations working to mitigate violence in the Middle East could be amongst those recognised.
Nominees for the Nobel Prizes are kept secret for 50 years, but certain qualified nominators often publicize their selections. Academics at the Free University Amsterdam have nominated Middle East-based organizations EcoPeace, Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun for their peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians. It is also possible that the committee could consider the Sudan Emergency Response Rooms, a group of grassroots initiatives providing aid to Sudanese affected by famine and civil war.
The announcements for the Nobel Prizes will begin with the physiology or medicine prize, followed by the physics, chemistry, literature, and peace awards. The Peace Prize winner will be announced on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, while the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm will announce the rest. The prize in economics will follow the next week. New technology, including artificial intelligence, could be recognised across different categories.
Critics of artificial intelligence caution against its potential for enabling autonomous weapons that could increase conflict. However, AI has also led to scientific breakthroughs that could be acknowledged in other Nobel categories. Scientists from Google Deepmind, known for their AI advancements, are being considered for the chemistry prize for their AI model, AlphaFold, which accurately predicts protein structures and has applications in medicine for drug development.
David Pendlebury, head of research analysis at Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information, believes that AI will play an increasingly significant role in research. He anticipates that discoveries firmly anchored in AI could win Nobel prizes in the next decade. Overall, the Nobel Prizes in 2024 are set to highlight significant global issues while also recognising innovative advancements in science and technology.