The Worlds I See
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4.4 • 30 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The moving memoir of a scientist coming of age as an immigrant in America who finds her calling at the forefront of the AI revolution.
Wired called Dr. Fei-Fei Li “one of a tiny group of scientists—a group perhaps small enough to fit around a kitchen table—who are responsible for AI’s recent remarkable advances.”
Known to the world as the creator of ImageNet, a key catalyst of modern artificial intelligence, Dr. Li has spent more than two decades at the forefront of the field. But her career in science was improbable from the start. As immigrants, her family faced a difficult transition from China’s middle class to American poverty. And their lives were made all the harder as they struggled to care for her ailing mother, who was working tirelessly to help them all gain a foothold in their new land.
Fei-Fei’s adolescent knack for physics endured, however, and positioned her to make a crucial contribution to the breakthrough we now call AI, placing her at the center of a global transformation. Over the last decades, her work has brought her face-to-face with the extraordinary possibilities—and the extraordinary dangers—of the technology she loves.
The Worlds I See is a story of science in the first person, documenting one of the century’s defining moments from the inside. It provides a riveting story of a scientist at work and a thrillingly clear explanation of what artificial intelligence actually is—and how it came to be. Emotionally raw and intellectually uncompromising, this audiobook is a testament not only to the passion required for even the most technical scholarship but also to the curiosity forever at its heart.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
As people become ever more dependent on—and fearful of—artificial intelligence, Dr. Fei-Fei Li offers a far more hopeful vision of humanity’s evolving relationship with technology. Her fascinating memoir charts the history of AI, from Alan Turing first coining the term in the mid-20th century to the “deep learning” algorithms that have powered many of the computing breakthroughs of the past decade, including ImageNet, the enormous visual database Dr. Li created in 2006. But what really takes this eye-opening listen to the next level is the way Dr. Li weaves in her own inspiring coming-of-age story as a computing-obsessed child of Chinese immigrants growing up in ’90s New Jersey. Cindy Kay’s exuberant narration captures Dr. Li’s childlike awe and burning passion, especially when she’s torn between pursuing lucrative professional opportunities and holding to her ailing mother’s advice to always live meaningfully. The Worlds I See proposes a future where AI isn’t the bad guy but humanity’s secret weapon.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating!
Immigrant, scientist, adventurer, and grand artist of a new global renaissance, Dr. Fei-Fei Li tells a surprisingly human story that interweaves personal experiences and introspections of a life into both a historical and emergence tapestry of technology. As a Sr. Software Engineer, I found it fascinating, of course, but I think anyone can enjoy the richness of her prose and story. The voice over artist was exceptional and easy to listen to (perfect speed, inflection, and appropriately subtle voice quoting). Having listened to this once like watching a good movie, I will soon listen again just to capture all the powerful quotes that gave me pause. It’s always a little scary to throw dollars down on a book that you might only listen to the first few minutes of, but this one was for me, fully-satisfying purchase. Kudos to the author and the entire production team.
Blah
A labyrinth of retrospective drivel, crafted with the sterile precision of a CPU. Whether it reflects her stance on AI is anyone’s guess—I couldn’t endure beyond chapter two.
Doesn’t care for the Rights of Animals.
Doesn’t care for the Rights of Animals