Group 3 - Dr. Fei-Fei Li
Brief Biography
The underrepresented innovator we have chosen is Dr. Fei-Fei Li, a Chinese-American woman who is famously known for being the “godmother of AI” with numerous contributions towards the Artificial Intelligence and Science communities. Li was born in Beijing in 1976 and emigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was a teenager, leaving behind their “prosperous” life in China for an impoverished lifestyle in the United States driven by a desire for better educational opportunities (Zhang). Despite these many obstacles that she faced, and many years of hard work in secondary school, she eventually earned a scholarship to Princeton University and later a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Caltech (Stanford University, n.d).
Li's most notable contribution to tech is her creation of ImageNet, a groundbreaking large-scale database of labeled images used to train AI models in image recognition (Downey, 2024). This work played a pivotal role in the advancement of deep learning and modern AI systems such as autonomous vehicles and facial recognition software. Before this, the hype around artificial intelligence had largely died off, but this work was largely responsible for reinvigorating hopes of what the technology could one day become.
Dr Li also created a company called World Labs in April. The company became so successful that “investors have valued the business at more than $1bn” (Kinder). Instead of retiring or stepping back, Dr. Li has remained an active leader in AI, continuing her work in the field as a computer science professor at Stanford University, where she aims to inspire future generations of innovators. Dr Li's ongoing commitment to AI and diversity in tech reflect her dedication to advancing technology and creating a more inclusive future in tech
How she is underrepresented
Dr. Li is underrepresented in tech as both a Chinese-American and a woman because of the historical lack of diversity in the field. This is especially true with regards to AI and computer science. She faced several challenges in her life, especially in her early life when she first moved to the U.S. as a teenager with two parents that didn't speak any English. She faced challenges adjusting to a new culture and the balancing of her educational work and supporting her family by working jobs to help pay the bills and make ends meet (Downey, 2024).
Fei-Fei Li has shared that, early in her life, many people around her failed to treat her as an equal, often seeing her only through the lens of being a Chinese immigrant. This narrow view led to feelings of isolation and frustration as she struggled to assert herself in her new environment. Li's math teacher, however, saw her talents and encouraged her, as Zhang writes “she felt for the first time that an American saw her as more than just a Chinese immigrant”, giving her confidence and dignity (Zhang, 2024). She says that her mentorship from her math teacher in calculus and in other parts of her life were important to her overcoming these challenges
Dr. Fei-Fei Li and colleagues hold a roundtable discussion about AI and its potential effects on the economy at Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI), which she co-founded.
Her Contributions to Tech
Dr. Li's primary contribution to technology, informatics, and computer science is her creation of ImageNet. ImageNet is a massive collection of labeled images used to teach computers how to recognize objects, enabling AI to "see" and identify things in pictures. ImageNet's data-driven approach exemplified the power of computational thinking by demonstrating how large datasets can be used to train algorithms to perform complex visual recognition tasks. We use this technology in many aspects of our everyday lives. A few examples of this include smartphone cameras that enhance photo quality by recognizing scenes, social media apps that automatically tag friends in pictures, and devices that use visual recognition for security, such as phones. It can detect diseases in medical pictures and can even help self-driving cars “see” around them. Fei-Fei Li has undoubtedly changed the world of AI forever.
Of the three pillars of informatics, Dr. Li's work has had the largest impact in the sociotechnical thinking pillar. Her focus on human-centered AI, where the desires of humans are put at the forefront of AI, aligns closely with the sociotechnical pillar. This is also true with her work at ImageNet, since the focus is on the interaction between technology and our society. Her work in image recognition is an easy way to humanize her innovation in our every day, especially if you consider how often technology is used to make our lives easier, such as logging in to your smartphone using just your face.
Dr. Li's work in human-centered AI brings the hope of driving
advancements in various fields such such as medicine and healthcare.
Future Promise of Her Work
Dr. Li's contributions to AI have shifted tides of the technological world that we see today. Effects of her work can already be seen daily by looking at your phone. Every time someone opens their phone through face ID is a result of her research of AI. As an innovator of AI, any future improvement or use of AI can also be labeled as an effect of her work. As for what plans AI has for the future, the possibilities are endless. AI could automate the entire world eventually, with enough development.
For example, AI could eventually take over any human connection that someone may need. The introduction of AI robots being mass produced to any family would also be a result of Dr. Li's work. The outcomes of future AI can be successful, and consequential. AI can be beneficial for making tedious tasks shorter but can also be consequential by taking up jobs and putting businesses out of business. Overall, Dr. Li's contributions to AI and the effects AI has on the future is mainly positive.
How we selected Dr. Li
When choosing our innovator from amongst our group, we had a lot of interesting options. We decided to choose the innovator who had the biggest impact on our daily lives. Among our other options were Timnit Gebru, Rediete Abebe, Wanda Austin, and Keisha Howard. Timnit Gebru is an Ethiopian woman who is co-founder of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute and co-founder of Black in AI. She is also known for losing her job at Google due to raising concerns about their AI practices (Ford, 2022). Rediete Abebe is another Ethiopian woman who is also co-founder of Black in AI, and known for her focus and work on algorithms. Wanda Austin was a close second choice because of her impressive work in the aerospace and defense sectors, as well as promoting diversity in STEM. Finally, another close choice was Keisha Howard, founder of Sugar Games, who are known for empowering women, people of color, and LGBTQ people to make them feel invited in gaming and geek spaces.
Among all of the options we considered, Dr. Li stood out as our top choice because of her groundbreaking, foundational work in AI, particularly in image recognition software. While many of the innovators we reviewed have some contribution to AI, Li's pioneering work in computer vision and deep learning have been the most influential in driving the technical advancement of AI. Today, artificial intelligence is everywhere, shaping our lives in ways that are difficult to ignore. It's difficult to imagine if AI would be where it is today without the contributions of Dr. Li, which is why she rose to the top of our list of innovators.
References
Stanford University. (n.d.). Fei-Fei Li.Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.
https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/people/fei-fei-li Downey, S. C. (2024, February 23).
The Godmother of AI: How Fei-Fei Li '99 is safeguarding the future of human and artificial
intelligence. Princeton Alumni Weekly.
https://alumni.princeton.edu/stories/fei-fei-li-woodrow-wilson-award
Ford, J. (2022, March 21). Tech activist Timnit Gebru to deliver distinguished lecture on ethical AI.
Penn State. https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/tech-activist-timnit-gebru-deliver
distinguished-lecture-ethical-ai
Zhang, Z. (2024, August 5). 'Godmother of AI', top Chinese-American scientist wants gender, racial
equality. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/
article/3272931/godmother-ai-shy-chinese-american-pioneer-fei-fei-li-seeks-science-chance-all
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