English

The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI

Author: Fei Fei Li Publication Date: November 2023

2025-05-10 2 min read Sincheenz

The autobiography of Dr. Fei-Fei Li is truly inspiring. It’s a beautiful story that makes you wonder how people like Fei-Fei—who had so little luxury and so much hardship—still carried such joy, ambition, and a deep sense of adventure. She seized every opportunity presented to her and made the most of them. The unwavering support of her parents and their belief in her is deeply touching. It’s clear this played a vital role in shaping who she is today and what she has accomplished.

Vision is what gave certain species an edge over others. The ability to see opens the door to understanding, growth, and adaptation. The human brain can absorb an extraordinary amount of information from an image shown for just a few milliseconds. I love how she talks about discovering her North Star—how she had faith in her decision to follow it—and how that journey eventually led to the creation of ImageNet. It’s awe-inspiring.

Her perseverance, her refusal to stop, and her dedication to applying science for the betterment of humanity are deeply admirable. The contrast she observes between corporate giants and academia is sharp: the former offers immense resources and scale; the latter holds the purity of inquiry and the freedom to ask bold questions. But the gap is closing when it comes to AI.

Her leadership goes beyond the lab. As Director of the Stanford AI Lab, she has played a central role in shaping the next generation of scientists. Her co-founding of AI4ALL shows her deep commitment to democratizing access to artificial intelligence and making the field more inclusive. Through the book, you also see her gift for communicating complex scientific concepts in a way that is accessible and moving. She writes with clarity and warmth, drawing you in whether she’s explaining neural networks or recounting her struggles as an immigrant teenager.

This autobiography is honest, open, and written from the heart. It strikes the right balance of humility—no excessive superlatives, just truth. Women like Fei-Fei remind us that anything is possible if you put your heart and mind into it.