Technology Changes Everything

Famed artificial intelligence researcher Li Fei-Fei says industry and academia need to cooperate to reap the field’s benefits

By Liu Xiaoying

AI in China

Over the past 15 years, Li Fei-Fei, director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab and the Stanford Vision Lab, has been working on algorithms that enable computers and robots to perceive and learn from the world. She cherishes the idea that machines will eventually understand the world and society in which humans live.

In early 2017, Li joined Google Cloud AI and Machine Learning, believing that as AI technology reaches more people, it will have a more profound industrial and academic impact. In an interview with ChinaReport, she shared her unique views on the prospects of AI, its market potential, and challenges for this rapidly-growing field.

ChinaReport : How will AI impact our lives?

Li Fei-Fei: AI is a science and technology with a history of more than six decades, and its main function is to make machines and computers more intelligent. During the latest boom in AI, data and algorithms brought forth a breakthrough in the computing capacities of AI. I believe that AI will impact our lives in many aspects but in most cases, AI won’t be a distinct entity but will provide greater convenience. For example, doctors needing assistance in diagnosis, the management of medical data and chronic diseases. AI will play an increasingly large role propelled by data and algorithms. In transportation, AI has altered travel through self-driving cars, computing optimisation of big data and even the matching of supply and demand. I believe AI will impact various vertical industries, including agriculture, finance, healthcare and entertainment.