Google’s substantial revenue from its online search business has long enabled the company to invest in large-scale research projects that have the potential to revolutionize the world.

On Wednesday, Google’s commitment to ambitious ideas received a significant boost from the Nobel Prize committee. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s leading AI lab, and John Jumper, a key researcher, were among the trio awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their use of AI to enhance our understanding of the human body and improve disease treatment.

Their Nobel win followed a day after Geoffrey Hinton, a former Google VP and researcher, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence. These recognitions demonstrate AI’s growing influence far beyond tech and highlight Silicon Valley’s deep impact on science and the global economy.

“This is the year the Nobel committee embraced AI,” said Oren Etzioni, a professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Washington, acknowledging how AI’s impact on the scientific world has become undeniable.

However, alongside this triumph, Google is grappling with mounting pressure from antitrust regulators. The Nobel accolades also underscored concerns about whether tech companies are sufficiently mindful of the consequences of their aggressive AI development efforts.

“We may reach a point where not only solutions but the very questions being explored are shaped by AI itself,” noted Mohammed AlQuraishi, a biologist at Columbia University, reflecting on the challenges scientists and society might face as AI becomes more entrenched.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it might seek a court order to break up Google or alter its operations, aiming to reduce its dominance in online search. In another legal battle, Google is in court over allegations that it violated antitrust laws in digital advertising. A ruling on that case is expected next month. Separately, a judge in California has ordered Google to allow competitors to operate app stores on its Android system for three years, as part of yet another antitrust case.

Google isn’t alone in facing regulatory scrutiny. The DOJ has filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing it of creating obstacles for users wanting to leave its ecosystem, while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Meta for anti-competitive behavior following its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and Amazon for practices that allegedly inflate online prices.

As regulators push back on monopolistic behavior, tech giants like Google are doubling down on AI. Regulators argue that swift action is needed before these companies dominate the emerging AI market. “AI is now a major player, not just in technology, but in Washington,” said Erik Brynjolfsson, director of Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab. “Even if you’re not paying attention to AI, AI is paying attention to you.”

The DOJ also expressed concerns about Google’s potential to leverage its search monopoly to feed its AI initiatives and is considering steps to limit its influence in the AI sector, including giving websites the option to exclude their content from Google’s AI training models.

This year, both the DOJ and FTC have opened investigations into companies leading AI development, with the DOJ focusing on Nvidia, a key provider of AI chips, while the FTC has begun looking into Microsoft and OpenAI, partners in AI innovation. The New York Times, meanwhile, has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement related to AI-generated content.

In the 1960s, when computer science was still emerging, skeptics viewed it as a mere tool, not a true science. But as technology evolved, driven by breakthroughs in AI, computer science has become a crucial force across multiple disciplines, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, and medicine.

“Most people think of AI in the context of chatbots, but its potential to accelerate scientific discovery is far more significant,” said Brynjolfsson.

The AI boom, fueled by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022, has amplified concerns over its future implications. Dr. Hinton, now retired from Google, has spoken out about his fear that the rapid advancement of AI could have catastrophic consequences. He hopes that his Nobel Prize will encourage people to take these warnings seriously.

Leaders like Dr. Hassabis often frame AI as a tool to solve global challenges like curing diseases and combating climate change. The Nobel-winning work by Google’s DeepMind, with its AlphaFold technology that predicts protein structures, is a notable achievement in that direction. By understanding protein shapes, scientists can more quickly develop treatments and tackle numerous scientific problems.

In 2012, Dr. Hinton published a seminal paper on neural networks that attracted Google’s attention. They later brought him on board for $44 million. The following year, Google acquired DeepMind, the AI startup founded by Dr. Hassabis, for $650 million. Both Hinton and Hassabis were pioneers in AI research, long before it gained widespread attention.

Although Dr. Hassabis is optimistic about AI’s potential, he shares concerns about its risks. He believes that working from within a company like Google is the best way to ensure responsible AI development. Google has committed to using its AI for non-military purposes and has established an independent board to oversee ethical use of the technology.

“AI has vast potential for both good and harm,” Dr. Hassabis said after receiving the Nobel Prize. “We need to carefully navigate how we develop and apply this technology to maximize its benefits while minimizing its risks.”ng its risks.”