Buckle up, science fans! In this episode of SimplyScience, we're diving into a mash-up that’s changing the world: physics meets machine learning! This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics went to two rockstars, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, whose work decades ago set the stage for today’s AI revolution. Ever wonder how machines “learn”?

Well, it all started with these guys taking inspiration from magnetic spins, brainy neurons, and good old physics principles. We’ll break down how their groundbreaking models, the Hopfield network and Boltzmann machine, use energy levels and "temperature" to help computers make decisions. It’s like watching AI perform a dance choreographed by physics—and trust us, it’s got some moves!