Nobel for AI: A matter of time?

Understanding how proteins are folded, or likely to be folded is, therefore, critically important

Can an Artificial Intelligence (AI) be awarded the Nobel Prize for key scientific research? This is not a frivolous or philosophical question. In 2022 alone, we have seen at least two AI-driven pieces of research, which could qualify for the most prestigious award in science.

In an earlier era, one would, of course, have cited the flesh-and-blood scientists who did computer-assisted work. But in both the cases in question, the AI was essentially self-taught — actually, it was arguably the same AI that did both pieces of research in widely differing fields.

In February 2022, DeepMind, the British AI research outfit, which