‘Godmother of AI’ says degrees are less important than how quickly you can ‘superpower yourself’

Fei Fei Li, a Stanford University professor and CEO of AI startup World Labs, is known as the “Godmother of AI” for her work building a large-scale database of labeled images, which has changed the way computers understand digital images and videos.

Lee, who is also founding co-director of the Institute for Human-Centered AI at Stanford University, said she values ​​candidates’ experience and relationship with AI tools more than their educational background.

“When we interview a software engineer, I personally feel like the degree they have is less important to us now,” she told me about the talent search process at her AI startup in an interview. The Tim Ferriss Show this week.

“Now, it’s more about what you’ve learned, what tools you use, and how quickly you can use those tools with superhuman power — and a lot of those tools are AI tools,” she added. “How you think about using these tools matters most to me.”

When discussing the broader impacts of AI on education and the labor market, Lee said the evaluation of qualified workers was based on the school job candidates had graduated from and the degree they had earned. “But this will change as artificial intelligence becomes more accessible to more people,” she added.

As for its talent acquisition, Lee added that it will not hire software engineers who do not “embrace collaborative AI software tools.” She explained that this requirement is not because she believes AI software tools are perfect, but because she believes they demonstrate a person’s ability to grow with fast-moving technologies and use AI to their own advantage.

Lee’s view of AI skills and their value compared to college degrees reflects similar sentiments among other leaders in the industry.

In October, Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg said skills outweighed a flashy college degree when hiring at Meta — but noted that entry-level roles at his company still required a bachelor’s degree.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has challenged the value of a college education by launching a four-year paid internship program for young entrepreneurs not enrolled in college to learn instead by doing and “skip the debt, skip the indoctrination.”

As more technology leaders look for candidates who are proficient in AI, Lee looks for those who can help achieve her company’s mission.

World Labs aims to build an artificial intelligence that can process and replicate the 3D world through spatial reasoning, a feat that would revolutionize technology once again. Lee bootstrapped the startup to a valuation of more than $1 billion after just four months, according to Financial Times.

As she works to achieve the next breakthrough in AI, Lee told Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in 2024 that AI can change the world, and that “everyone who cares” should have a place in the technological transformation.

“It’s very important for people of all backgrounds to feel like they have a role,” Lee said.