鈥楪odmother of AI鈥� to speak at First Year Academic Convocation
Renowned computer scientist Fei-Fei Li, the so-called 鈥淕odmother of AI鈥� whose groundbreaking work on human-centered artificial intelligence has made her a leading voice in the conversation about technology鈥檚 role in society, will be the featured speaker at Boston College鈥檚 First Year Academic Convocation on September 5 in Conte Forum.
Li, who served as a vice president at Google and chief scientist at Google Cloud, will offer both professional and personal insights on the opportunities and challenges of AI鈥攖he subject of her 2023 book The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI鈥攖o the 情色空间 Class of 2028.
Preceding Li鈥檚 talk will be the traditional First Flight Procession, which begins with the assembly of members of the new class on Linden Lane, where faculty, staff, and administrators challenge the students to follow the charge of St. Ignatius to 鈥淪et the world aflame.鈥� The torchlit procession that follows鈥攁nd which is repeated by the class on the day of its Commencement鈥攚inds through Gasson Hall, down the Higgins Stairs, and into Conte Forum.
鈥淎s we enter new territories with artificial intelligence, our incoming students are beginning one of their first major transitions.," said event organizers in 情色空间's聽Office of First Year Experience. "Dr. Fei-Fei Li provides an excellent narrative linking together her journey of transformation with her work as a researcher, scholar, and professor.
鈥淲e hope our first-year and transfer students will be inspired by her personal and professional lived experiences as they transition into Boston College.鈥�
聽Li is the inaugural Sequoia Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University, and co-director of Stanford鈥檚 Human-Centered AI Institute. She directed Stanford鈥檚 AI Lab from 2013 to 2018鈥� she worked at Google and Google Cloud during her sabbatical from Stanford鈥攁nd has served as a board member or advisor in various public or private companies.
She has shared her expertise in testimony before the United States Congress, as a special advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations, and as a member of the California Future of Work Commission for the Governor of California, and the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Task Force for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Science Foundation.
“[W}e should recognize human intelligence is very, very complex. It鈥檚 emotional, it鈥檚 compassionate, it鈥檚 intentional, it has its own blind spots, it鈥檚 social. When we develop tomorrow鈥檚 AI, we should be inspired by this level of nuance instead of only recognizing the narrowness of intelligence.”
A native of Beijing who immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was 16, Li earned degrees from Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology. While at Caltech, she worked on the one-shot learning technique鈥攚hich can make predictions based on minimal data and is important for computer vision and natural language processing鈥攁nd became a key contributor to AI. She later conceptualized the ImageNet database, laying the foundation for generative AI.
In a 2023 interview, Li described The Worlds I See as 鈥渉alf memoir, half science.鈥�
鈥淸It] captures both the science part of AI as well as the journey of a scientist who is coming of age,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y background is, I guess, not that of a typical kid. So I do traverse different worlds physically, temporally. As a scientist who has been involved not only in the science of it but also in the social aspect of the science, I see the worlds in different dimensions, so it was very important that I made [the title] plural: The Worlds. Because I鈥檓 a computer-vision AI scientist, the worlds I see capture that very essence of seeing.鈥�
Li said the framework for human-centered AI comprises three elements. 鈥淥ne is that it recognizes AI as part of a multidisciplinary field; it鈥檚 not just a niche computer science field. We use AI to do scientific discovery, we want to understand AI鈥檚 economic impact, we want to use AI to super-power education and learning. It鈥檚 deeply interdisciplinary. We want to make sure we study and forecast what鈥檚 coming.
鈥淲e also recognize that the most important use of a tool as powerful as AI is to augment humanity, not to replace it,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲hen we think about this technology, we need to put human dignity, human well-being鈥攈uman jobs鈥攊n the center of consideration.鈥�
“As we enter new territories with artificial intelligence, our incoming students are beginning one of their first major transitions.. Dr. Fei-Fei Li provides an excellent narrative linking together her journey of transformation with her work as a researcher, scholar, and professor. We hope our first-year and transfer students will be inspired by her personal and professional lived experiences as they transition into Boston College.”
Understandably, such a large language model and its power creates great excitement, said Li, 鈥渂ut we should recognize human intelligence is very, very complex. It鈥檚 emotional, it鈥檚 compassionate, it鈥檚 intentional, it has its own blind spots, it鈥檚 social. When we develop tomorrow鈥檚 AI, we should be inspired by this level of nuance instead of only recognizing the narrowness of intelligence.鈥�
Since 2004, each incoming Boston College first-year class has engaged in a reflective dialogue, 鈥淐onversations in the First Year,鈥� about a common text as a means to offer insight on responding to life鈥檚 questions, and to find direction in each student鈥檚 personal journey鈥攁 shared experience embodying the richness of the Catholic intellectual tradition at Boston College. The author of that year鈥檚 text presents the convocation鈥檚 keynote address, which serves to broaden students鈥� perspectives on, and appreciation for, what they have read.