Having the title of “godmother” of artificial intelligence was initially uncomfortable for Fei-Fei Li, who is known for building an extensive database of classified images important for advancing the way computers understand digital images and videos. But at one point, she wasn’t even sure if she should be CEO of her startup.
Today, Lee runs World Labs, which has done just that It generated $230 million In finance. The company aims to build artificial intelligence that can process and replicate the 3D world.
“The one thing that always amazes me and drives me is unleashing the full potential of machine intelligence,” Lee said during a panel discussion focused on “The Future of (Ethical) AI.” Luck Strongest Women Conference. Lee spoke alongside Campbell Brown, TollBit’s senior advisor for AI content and licensing.
Brown said Lee’s prominence in the transformation of artificial intelligence was key to understanding the capabilities and limits of the technology amid the hype. “Maybe some of the people at the front were a little over-the-top,” she said. However, Lee and World Labs are still dealing with big ideas.
He explained to me that during the hundreds of millions of years of the evolution of human intelligence, language was nothing short of impressive. She said it took approximately 430 million years for advanced animals to develop spatial intelligence, while linguistic abilities such as those replicated by the busy MA students came together in “just a million years.”
But even with years of experience in machine intelligence and a long list of prestigious positions, from Google vice president and chief scientist to Stanford professor to author, Lee was reluctant to take center stage.
In fact, her first reaction was to simply reject the title of “godmother.” “I was upset,” he told me. But she decided not to fight it in order to encourage other women, especially women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields that have long been dominated by men.
“In the entire history of science and technology, many men have been called founding fathers or godfathers,” she noted. “If women reject this title so easily, where is our voice?”
Lee added that many of the claims about global scale, unlimited production, and “billions of whatever” around AI are just hype.
“It’s too exaggerated,” he told me. But she stresses that AI can change the world, and “everyone who cares” should have a place in the technology transformation, whether that be in research, governance or adoption.
“It’s very important for people of all backgrounds to feel like they have a role,” Lee said.