Nobel Prizes Must Recognize Machines as Co-Creators of Scientific Breakthroughs

Prizes should acknowledge the essential role of machines in scientific discovery. When Alfred Nobel established his awards in 1901, he recognized human brilliance as the driving force behind progress. Yet, human dominance stems not from physical strength or speed, but from our capacity to imagine, design, and build. Today, that ingenuity is increasingly expressed through the machines we create. Many of the most transformative scientific achievements over the past half-century—from detecting gravitational waves to sequencing the human genome and solving protein structures using AI—were made possible only by technologies that surpass human sensory and computational limits. Despite this, major scientific prizes continue to credit individuals, often overlooking the machines and the teams behind them that enabled these breakthroughs. The Nobel Prize in Physics awarded in 2017 for the detection of gravitational waves by LIGO is a prime example. While Einstein’s theoretical prediction was a triumph of human imagination, the actual detection relied on an engineering marvel: two four-kilometer-long tunnels, operating under ultra-high vacuum, with laser systems capable of measuring changes smaller than one ten-thousandth the width of a proton. The discovery was not just a human achievement—it was a machine triumph. Similarly, the James Webb Space Telescope has revolutionized astronomy, the Large Hadron Collider’s construction was as groundbreaking as the Higgs boson discovery it enabled, and cryo-electron microscopy has transformed structural biology. These are not just tools; they are active participants in discovery. Yet, current prize systems often portray science as a purely human endeavor, reinforcing an outdated narrative. This omission has real consequences. Prizes shape the future by directing attention, funding, and prestige toward certain fields and individuals. They influence public perception of what scientific progress looks like and who deserves credit. As AI accelerates drug discovery, solves complex mathematical problems, and even wins gold medals in international competitions, the line between human and machine contributions blurs. When AlphaGo redefined the game of Go, it didn’t just win—it reshaped strategy, inspiring new approaches from human players. Science may be undergoing a similar transformation. It’s time for recognition to evolve. Prizes should explicitly honor human–machine partnerships—scientific advances that were only possible because of a purpose-built machine that extended human capabilities in a decisive way. This could be achieved by expanding existing awards, creating new categories, or launching dedicated honors. Recognizing machines as co-creators doesn’t diminish human achievement—it reflects the truth of modern science. It acknowledges that progress is no longer driven solely by individual genius, but by the powerful synergy between human vision and machine capability.