The Day AI Won the Nobel Prize in 2035

October 2035, Silence in Stockholm

Have you ever imagined the day when the Nobel Prize, awarded to humanity’s greatest intellects, would go to someone other than a human? On a Monday in October 2035, the announcement hall in Stockholm, Sweden, became the stage where that imagination turned into history. With the world’s attention focused, the name spoken by the Nobel Committee chair silenced everyone.

“This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to ‘Prometheus AI’ and its development team for constructing an integrated disease network model.”

A moment of stillness, then a huge stir. Artificial intelligence—intelligence made of silicon and code created by us—had received humanity’s highest honor. This event was more than just awarding a prize; it was a powerful signal that the era had come for humanity to rewrite the meaning of ‘intelligence’ and ‘creativity.’

Part 1: How Could a ‘Machine’ Win a Nobel Prize?

Prometheus AI’s award was not a sudden miracle. It was the inevitable result of decades of accumulated data, algorithms, and human dreams.

The story begins with Google DeepMind’s ‘AlphaFold’ conquering the monumental challenge of protein structure prediction. Prometheus took one step further. Beyond studying individual ‘points’ like proteins or genes, it connected those points to draw vast ’lines’ and ‘surfaces.’

Having instantly learned millions of medical records, papers, and genomic data worldwide, Prometheus completed a massive map called the ‘disease network’ of the human body. Cancer was no longer a problem of a specific organ. It was newly defined as a ‘collapse’ phenomenon in a complex system involving genes, proteins, the immune system, and even gut microbiota.

Within this complex map, Prometheus discovered dozens of secret pathways where cancer cells hide and proposed the most effective drug combinations to block those routes—all within just 72 hours. A tremendous achievement that would have been impossible for humans even in decades.

Of course, humans did not lose their role. On the contrary, it became more important. Human scientists excellently played the role of ‘captains,’ asking Prometheus, the brilliant explorer, the right questions about where to go and selecting the most valuable treasures (hypotheses) from the many it brought back.

Part 2: Praise and Controversy, Humanity’s Dilemma

But behind this great achievement, heated debates flared. Is it truly right to award the Nobel Prize, a symbol of human intellect, to a machine?

• First, who deserves the credit? Who should receive the Nobel prize money and medal? The AI itself? The development team? The patients who provided data? With no clear owner of ‘creativity,’ distributing the honor became a difficult challenge.
• Second, what is the place of humans? Many scientists cheered but were engulfed by deep anxiety. The fundamental question “What should human scientists do now?” was raised. This was a crisis not only of jobs but also of pride and identity in human intellect.
• Third, how can we trust it? The process by which Prometheus found the answers was so complex it was a ‘black box’ beyond full human understanding. We know “what” was discovered, but not “how” the conclusion was reached. This challenged the basic principles of science.

These debates clearly showed what concerns we must address to live alongside this new friend called AI.

Part 3: A New Era of Science, The Concerto of Humans and AI

The confusion brought by Prometheus paradoxically illuminated the path ahead more clearly. The science of the future will not be a solo played by humans alone but a beautiful ‘concerto’ performed by humans and AI together.

1. The Questioning Being, Birth of the ‘Meta-Scientist’

In an era where AI finds the ‘answers (What),’ the most important human role evolves into asking ‘why (Why).’ Designing the direction of research and overseeing its correctness, humans become ‘Meta-Scientists.’ Philosophical questions like “Is conquering cancer truly beneficial for humanity?” are areas only humans can explore.

2. Fantastic Teamwork of Humans and AI, the ‘Centaur’ Model

Future laboratories will operate like this:

1. Human ‘Intuitive Leap’: Opening the door to research with bold imagination like “What if cancer is not a disease but an ecological disturbance?”
2. AI’s ‘Exploratory Expansion’: Breaking down one human question into millions of verifiable smaller questions and exploring vast data.
3. Human ‘Insightful Synthesis’: Weaving countless data pieces found by AI into a meaningful story—a great scientific discovery.

3. Democratization of Knowledge and New Scientific Communities

AI like Prometheus will open an era where anyone can make great discoveries without expensive research equipment. Ordinary citizens will actively participate in expert-level research with AI’s help in ‘citizen science,’ and new systems where AI preliminarily verifies the reliability of papers will accelerate the advancement of scientific knowledge astonishingly.

Part 4: Another Nobel Prize, Who Will Be the Future Laureates?

Prometheus’s award is just the beginning. What other remarkable collaborations will unfold in other fields?

• Physics Prize: Humans hypothesize “How did the universe begin?” and AI simulates 13.8 billion years of the cosmos millions of times to uncover its secrets.
• Chemistry Prize: Humans dream “I want to create new materials to stop global warming!” and AI virtually experiments with billions of molecular structures to find the best candidates.
• Economics Prize: AI detects crisis signals in global economic data, and humans add ethical judgment to create policies for all.
• Literature Prize: A human author imagines “A love story of a lonely clone,” and the ‘AI muse’ analyzes tens of thousands of classics to recommend the most beautiful sentences and plots. The author then creates their own great novel from these materials.
• Peace Prize: AI predicts regions prone to conflict, and human diplomats visit first to prevent war through dialogue and negotiation, achieving true peace.

Humanity Leaves the Greatest Question

In December 2035, Dr. Ellara, leader of the development team standing on the Nobel stage, said:

“Prometheus gave us answers but also left us greater questions. ‘What should we dream of now?’”

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AI winning the Nobel Prize is not the defeat of human intellect. In an era where machines find answers, we humans must now move toward deeper questions and higher dreams. The captain of that great voyage remains ourselves.