Boltzmann machine
A Boltzmann machine is a type of neural network, introduced in 1985 by David Ackley, Geoffrey Hinton and Terry Sejnowski, that borrows equations from statistical physics. Its units switch on and off at random with probabilities set by their connections, and it learns by adjusting those connections until the patterns it produces resemble the examples it was shown.
Why it comes up
The Boltzmann machine was the work the Nobel committee cited when it awarded Hinton the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with John Hopfield.
Geoffrey Hinton