Weekend Listen: The Godmother of AI, Fei-Fei Li

Stanford University Professor Fei-Fei Li has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence research for 25 years, which is why she’s been called the “godmother of AI.” In this conversation she tells Mishal Husain how she arrived in the US as a teenager after her parents decided to emigrate from China. She also talks about the high school teacher who inspired her and a deep love of physics, leading her to ask what she calls “audacious” questions. These days, amid her excitement about AI and its potential, she also is focused on what humans must do to build safeguards, and has a message for parents, too.  02:50 -  AI is a “civilizational technology”04:15 - “Technology is a double-edged sword”05:45 - Being a tech CEO and an academic06:45 - Falling in love with physics08:00 - What is intelligence?08:40 - Finding my first North Star 09:45 - Fei-Fei Li’s two key breakthroughs14:52 - Moving from China to the US at 1515:48 - Running the family shop taught me resilience17:30 - “I wasn’t curious about nightclubs”18:20 - My inspirational teacher 22:20 - “China is a powerhouse in AI”23:00 - Creating 3D worlds with AI27:20 - AI and the jobs market28:40 - Are humans going to be replaced? 31:00 - “The machine overlord”32:45 - What should parents tell their children? 34:40 - The AI bubble36:00 - Powering the big data centres AI needs37:20 - “I’m not a tech utopian or a dystopian”38:00 - “My one worry is our teachers”39:20 - “I’m conscious of my responsibility”41:28 - Fei-Fei Li believes in timeless human values42:00 - “My favourite book these days is Harry Potter”Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYSYou can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.