The Class of 2028 and the inaugural Messina College class marched down Linden Lane Thursday evening, banners held high, celebrating the inception of their time at Boston College.
Fei-Fei Li, a founding director of the Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute, addressed the crowd by sharing how curiosity inspired her to ask “big, audacious questions” and led to her career today.
“These questions led me on an intellectual journey from physics to artificial intelligence, a path that I’m still on today,” Li said. “So just ask these big questions and never be afraid to change course to a question.”
Li also authored the book, The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI. She said the idea of showing young people how they can impact AI encouraged her to adapt the novel to include her personal connection to the field.
“I didn’t want to talk about myself—that’s not my nature,” Li said. “But I knew I had to. Not simply for the book … but for all the other people—especially young people, like you guys, from all walks of life—who still don’t see how they can make a difference in the AI era.”
Writing the novel allowed Li to share the importance of keeping AI human-centered, she said.
“We must use tools and technology not to replace, but to support and enhance and enrich our individual as well as shared human experiences,” Li said.
Li added that if there were anything she hoped the class of 2028 would take from the address, it was to let “curiosity guide you to pursue your passion.”
“Look for your North Star,” she said.
Hope and worries surround the evolution of AI, but our motivations will be the defining factor in shaping our future—not technology—according to Li.
“The future of AI remains deeply uncertain, and we have as many reasons for optimism as we do for concern, but it’s all a product of something deeper and far more consequential than mere technology,” Li said. “The question of what motivates us in our hearts and our minds as we create, I believe the answer to that question, more perhaps than any other, will shape our future.”
Li emphasized that AI’s interdisciplinary nature is what makes it so strong, and that students must similarly pursue their interests.
“So if you love art, please pursue it,” Li said. “ If your heart seeks sports or biology, I beg you, follow it there. AI is a civilizational technology, but it’s only as good as the human beings created and use it.”
Li concluded her address by reminding members of the Class of 2028 to keep humanity in mind when pursuing their goals and to continue fueling their desires.
“As you pursue your North Star, always remember humanity at the core of it,” Li said. “There will always be something new to chase—to a scientist, the imagination is a sky full of North Stars.”
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