AI Pioneer · Computer Vision Scientist · Human-Centered AI Leader
Fei-Fei Li is a pioneering artificial intelligence researcher, computer vision scientist and leading voice in human-centered AI. She is the Sequoia Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and the Founding Director and Senior Fellow of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (Stanford HAI). She also serves as Special Advisor on AI to Stanford President Jonathan Levin.
Li is widely known for creating ImageNet and the ImageNet Challenge, a landmark large-scale dataset and benchmarking initiative that played a major role in advancing computer vision and deep learning. Her research has helped shape the development of modern AI and spans machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, cognitively inspired AI and AI applications in healthcare.
From 2013 to 2018, Li served as Director of the Stanford AI Lab. During a sabbatical from Stanford, she was Vice President at Google and Chief Scientist of AI/ML at Google Cloud. She has authored more than 200 scientific publications across leading journals and conferences.
Her work increasingly focuses on human-centered artificial intelligence—exploring how AI can augment human capabilities while preserving human agency, dignity and judgment. Current areas of interest include human reasoning, spatial intelligence, AI and healthcare, and the responsible development and governance of AI.
Li is also the Co-Founder and Chairperson of AI4ALL, a nonprofit organization focused on increasing inclusion and diversity in AI education. She is the author of The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI.
Her experience spans academic research, technology leadership, healthcare innovation, AI policy and global technology discussions. She has addressed audiences at major international forums and has briefed the United Nations Security Council on artificial intelligence, emphasizing global collaboration, public-sector leadership and evidence-based AI policy.