[Reflecting 125 Years of the Nobel Prize Era]⑥Asking the Makers of the Nobel Prize

"There Is No Need for the Nobel Prize to Change"
Honoring the Founder’s Principles Upheld for 125 Years

Maximum of Three Laureates and 50 Years of Confidential Deliberations

Defining Individual Credit in an Era of Team Science and AI

Editor's Note125 years have passed since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901. Science has evolved from an era of groundbreaking discoveries by lone geniuses to a time when thousands of researchers and artificial intelligence (AI) collaborate. The Asia Business Daily explores, in a seven-part series marking the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Prize, how the nature and methods of scientific discovery have changed—and how the Nobel Prize is keeping pace with these transformations.

Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer of the Nobel Prize Outreach (NPO), is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at COEX Seoul on the 20th. Photo provided by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology

"The Nobel Prize does not need to change."

Adam Smith, the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Nobel Prize Outreach (NPO), an institution under the Nobel Foundation responsible for publicizing the Nobel Prize and laureates' research achievements, made this statement in an interview with The Asia Business Daily at "Nobel Prize Dialogue Seoul 2026" held at COEX, Seoul, on the 20th. He was responding to a question about what the Nobel Prize should change after 125 years.

What he emphasized did not need to change was not the number of laureates or the selection process, but the fundamental role of the Nobel Prize: honoring achievements that have helped humanity better understand the world. He explained that even if the benefits of a discovery are not immediately apparent, the value of expanding our understanding of the world remains unchanged.

However, even today, when scientific discoveries come about differently, the rule of awarding the prize to a maximum of three people and the non-disclosure of review documents remain in place. Even in an era when thousands take part in a discovery, no Nobel Prize is shared by more than three laureates. Even if artificial intelligence (AI) is involved in research, the contributions must be clearly attributed to individuals, and documentation related to the selection process remains undisclosed for at least 50 years. While the original spirit of the Nobel Prize is unchanged, how evolving scientific realities should be reflected in the prize’s regulations remains an ongoing challenge.

The Will and the Rules Set by the Articles of Association

In 1895, Alfred Nobel left a will instructing that his fortune be awarded as prizes for achievements that provide the greatest benefit to humanity. He also specified that nationality should not be a consideration in the selection of laureates. This has been the core principle guiding the Nobel Prizes since their inception in 1901.

Hanna Scherne, Executive Director of the Nobel Prize Outreach (NPO), is answering questions from reporters at COEX in Seoul on the 20th. Provided by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology

Hanna Scherne, Executive Director of NPO, stated in an interview on the same day, "Although the Nobel Prize has endured two world wars and turbulent periods, Alfred Nobel's intent to honor achievements that have given the greatest benefit to humanity remains unchanged."

If the founding purpose dictates the objective of the prize, the articles of association establish the rules for its implementation. Article 4 of the Nobel Foundation's statutes stipulates that a single prize cannot be shared among more than three individuals. Article 10 states that investigations and deliberations on nominees must remain confidential, and external access to related documents is permitted only at the awarding institution's discretion, and only after at least 50 years have passed since the prize was awarded. Even then, documents are not automatically released after fifty years.

The cap of three laureates and the 50-year confidentiality rule are not mandates of Nobel’s will, but are set by the statutes of the Nobel Foundation. The statutes also provide procedures for revisions. Upholding the founder’s intent to benefit humanity does not mean every operational rule must remain unchanged forever.

"Finding Laureates Is Like an Investigation"

Eva Olsson, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and a member of the Nobel Physics Prize jury, described the difficulty in choosing laureates: "Identifying the person who carried out the original research is very much like detective work," she said. She emphasized, "It is crucial to enlist the help of experts worldwide and to find documents that prove these achievements." She explained that it is not only important to select significant discoveries but also to confirm the earliest contributions leading to those discoveries as an essential part of the evaluation process.

Eva Olsson, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and a Nobel Prize in Physics Committee member, is answering journalists' questions at COEX in Seoul on the 20th. Provided by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology

Even in large-scale collaborative research involving hundreds or thousands of contributors, the Nobel Prize can be awarded to no more than three individuals. Professor Olsson said, "Even in large collaborations, it is often a small group of people who conduct the original research," adding, "While we cannot predict the future, at present, we continue to uphold the rule of awarding each prize to a maximum of three people."

Regarding the rule requiring review documents to remain confidential for at least 50 years, Professor Olsson said, "If necessary, we could reevaluate existing regulations. However, as it stands, there is no reason to change the 50-year confidentiality rule."

The emergence of AI is demanding new approaches to evaluating scientists' contributions. Alison Noble, Professor at the University of Oxford and Vice President of the Royal Society, also spoke with The Asia Business Daily on the same day. When asked whether the increasing collaboration with AI requires new methods of assessing researchers’ contributions, she replied, "Yes. This is a new way of conducting science and may be considered a new form of science altogether." She also emphasized, "We need to think about how to report the outcomes of such research more transparently."

AI-generated image.

CSO Smith, having spoken with around 350 Nobel laureates, identified persistence in inquiry as their common trait. "They discover a problem they are truly passionate about and never let it go," he said. "They find one question they really want answered and pursue it to the end."

However, most laureates did not recognize the significance of their discoveries at the start. CSO Smith remarked, "Most laureates say that when they made their discovery, they did not realize it would become fundamentally important enough to merit a Nobel Prize," adding, "It can take many years, or even decades, for the true significance of research to become clear."

What the Nobel Prize aims to preserve is not the research methods from 125 years ago, but its founder’s wish to honor discoveries that expand humanity's understanding. In the era of collaborative research and AI, determining who deserves this recognition and on what grounds remains an open question for the future.

CSO Smith noted, "Humanity needs people who strive to understand the complexity of the world we live in," adding, "As long as the Nobel Prize encourages such inquiry and understanding, it will remain necessary in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.