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Having risen to the top of her field, artificial intelligence (AI), Fei-Fei Li could easily sit back and enjoy the fruits of her success. But she cares too much about other people to allow herself to do that. Now that her smarts, determination and hard work have brought her to the pinnacle, she’s helping others to succeed also. As a leading AI scientist, Li is well-positioned to bring into the field people who have, until recently, been left out of it.
Li’s big heart for disadvantaged people may stem from the challenges and difficulties she faced as a young immigrant to America. When she arrived in New Jersey from Chengdu, China, in 1992 at the age of 16, she spoke little English. But her parents spoke even less, so Li became the family interpreter. While studying at Princeton University on a scholarship, she helped set her parents up in business by borrowing $20,000 from one of her teachers to open a dry cleaning shop. She came home most weekends to help run the shop. |