In a world dominated by male pioneers, Professor Fei-Fei Li stands out as the 'godmother' of AI, a title she embraces with a powerful message. But why is this distinction so significant?
Just 41 minutes ago, the BBC shared Prof Li's inspiring journey. As the sole woman among seven AI pioneers, she will receive the prestigious 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering from the King. This award recognizes their collective contributions to modern machine learning, the backbone of AI's rapid progress.
The 'Godfathers of AI'—Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, Prof. Yoshua Bengio, and Dr. Yann LeCun—have been celebrated since their 2018 Turing Award win. But Prof Li's role as the sole 'godmother' is a title she initially hesitated to accept. She explains, "I wouldn't call myself the godmother of anything." However, she realized that embracing this title could pave the way for women in science and technology to gain recognition.
Prof Li's background is as remarkable as her achievements. Born in China, she moved to the US as a teenager and excelled in computer science. As co-director at Stanford's Computer Science Department and co-founder/CEO of World Labs, her work on ImageNet revolutionized computer vision. Her large-scale image datasets laid the foundation for much of today's AI technology, enabling computers to 'see'.
And this is where it gets fascinating: Prof Li believes the next AI breakthrough will be its ability to interact with the world, a skill innate to animals and humans. This, she says, could 'superpower' humans in creativity, robotic learning, and design.
As the seven laureates gather for the first time, their differing views on AI's dangers are notable. Dr. Hinton warns of AI's potential "extinction-level threat", while Prof. LeCun, also at Meta, argues against apocalyptic fears. Prof Li takes a pragmatic stance, encouraging healthy debate on AI's future. She advocates for a science-based approach in public discourse, steering clear of extreme rhetoric.
The Queen Elizabeth Prize annually honors engineers whose innovations benefit humanity globally. Past winners include Sir Tim Berners Lee, the World Wide Web creator. This year's laureates, according to Lord Vallance, showcase engineering's power to sustain our planet and transform lives.
Controversy alert: Should we be concerned about AI's potential risks? Or is it a tool to enhance our abilities? Share your thoughts below!
