# Dr. Fei-Fei Li: Recent Podcast Appearances Timeline (Last 6 Months)

## Overview

Dr. Fei-Fei Li, often called the "Godmother of AI," has been actively appearing on major podcasts discussing the future of artificial intelligence, spatial intelligence, human-centered AI, and her work at World Labs. This timeline compiles key highlights from her recent podcast appearances from August 2025 to January 2026.

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## Timeline of Recent Podcast Appearances

### January 15, 2025 - **Possible Podcast** (with Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger)

**Episode:** "Fei-Fei Li on spatial intelligence and human-centered AI"

**Key Highlights:**

- **Spatial Intelligence as Next Frontier:** Emphasized that spatial intelligence represents the next major evolution beyond large language models (LLMs)
- **Human-Centered AI Philosophy:** Discussed the importance of building AI that amplifies human potential rather than replacing humans
- **Regulatory Guardrails:** Addressed the need for thoughtful regulation and governance frameworks for AI development
- **World Labs Mission:** Explained her current role as co-founder and CEO of World Labs, focusing on spatial intelligence technology
- **ImageNet Legacy:** Reflected on how ImageNet revolutionized computer vision and sparked the deep learning revolution

**Notable Quote:** "Humans are capable of creating God-like technology so that we can improve our medieval institutions and raise above our paleolithic emotions."

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### August 15, 2025 - **Firing Line (PBS)**

**Episode:** "Fei-Fei Li on ethical AI development"

**Key Highlights:**

- **Ethical AI Development:** Discussed the challenges and responsibilities in developing AI ethically
- **Societal Impact:** Addressed how AI will transform various sectors including healthcare, education, and employment
- **Policy Recommendations:** Provided insights on what policy frameworks are needed for responsible AI deployment
- **Global Collaboration:** Emphasized the need for international cooperation on AI standards and safety

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### November 16, 2025 - **Lenny's Podcast**

**Episode:** "The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next"

**Key Highlights:**

- **World Models Introduction:** Explained why world models and spatial intelligence represent the next frontier beyond LLMs
- **AI Won't Replace Humans:** Argued that AI won't replace humans but will require us to take responsibility for ourselves
- **Marble Applications:** Revealed surprising applications of World Labs' Marble product, from movie production to psychological research
- **Robotics Challenges:** Discussed why robotics faces unique challenges compared with language models
- **Historical Context:** Shared rarely told history of AI development, including that just nine years ago, calling yourself an AI company was "basically a death sentence"
- **Participation for All:** Explained how anyone can participate in AI regardless of their role or background

**Key Discussion Points:**

1. How ImageNet helped spark the current AI explosion
2. The "bitter lesson" in AI and robotics
3. Applications of Marble in creative industries and therapy
4. Human-centered AI initiatives at Stanford

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### November 25, 2025 - **Masters of Scale Summit**

**Episode:** "The 'Godmother of AI' on the next phase of AI" (with Reid Hoffman)

**Key Highlights:**

- **Fearless Approach:** Discussed why scientists and entrepreneurs need to be fearless in the face of an uncertain AI future
- **Spatial Intelligence & World Modeling:** Detailed the next phase of AI focusing on spatial understanding
- **Trust Building:** Explained how leaders should build societal trust in AI products and companies
- **Human Agency:** Emphasized that trust cannot be outsourced to machines and must remain fundamentally human
- **Entrepreneurial Responsibility:** Argued that entrepreneurs should care about trust from day one of AI development

**Chapter Topics Covered:**

- The next phase of AI: spatial intelligence & world modeling
- What spatial intelligence has done for humans
- Whether AI is over-hyped
- How to build society trust in AI
- Why we need to be "fearless" with AI

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### December 9, 2025 - **The Tim Ferriss Show** (#839)

**Episode:** "Dr. Fei-Fei Li, The Godmother of AI — Asking Audacious Questions, Civilizational Technology, and Finding Your North Star"

**Key Highlights:**

- **Civilizational Technology:** Defined AI as a "civilizational technology" that will have profound economic, social, cultural, and political impacts
- **Personal Journey:** Shared her immigrant story from Chengdu to New Jersey, and her family's seven years running a dry cleaning shop while she attended Princeton
- **ImageNet Creation:** Detailed the creation of ImageNet and how it birthed modern AI, including innovative use of Amazon Mechanical Turk for data labeling
- **Spatial Intelligence Vision:** Explained why she founded World Labs to focus on spatial intelligence as the next frontier
- **Educational Philosophy:** Proposed rethinking evaluation by showing students AI's "B-minus" work and challenging them to beat it
- **Human-Centered Focus:** Emphasized that "people are at the heart of everything" in AI development

**Notable Quotes:**

- "Really, at the end of the day, people are at the heart of everything. People made AI, people will be using AI, people will be impacted by AI, and people should have a say in AI."
- "AI is absolutely a civilizational technology... it'll have—or [is] already having—a profound impact in the economic, social, cultural, political, downstream effects of our society."
- "What is your North Star?"

**Key Topics Discussed:**

- From fighter jets to physics to asking "What is intelligence?"
- The epiphany everyone missed: Big data as the hidden hypothesis
- Against the single-genius myth: Science as non-linear lineage
- Quality control puzzles in AI training data
- Medieval French towns on a budget: How World Labs serves high school theater
- Flight simulators for robots and strawberry field therapy for OCD

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### June 16, 2025 - **Y Combinator Startup Podcast**

**Episode:** "Fei-Fei Li - Spatial Intelligence is the Next Frontier in AI"

**Key Highlights:**

- **Startup Perspective:** Provided insights for AI startups on navigating the current landscape
- **Technical Deep Dive:** Offered detailed explanations of spatial intelligence technologies
- **Entrepreneurial Advice:** Shared lessons from transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship
- **Market Opportunities:** Identified emerging opportunities in spatial AI applications

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## Common Themes Across Recent Appearances

### 1. **Spatial Intelligence as the Next Frontier**

- Repeated emphasis that spatial intelligence represents the next major evolution beyond language models
- World Labs' focus on creating AI that understands and interacts with the physical world
- Applications ranging from robotics and autonomous systems to creative industries and therapy

### 2. **Human-Centered AI Philosophy**

- Consistent message that AI should augment rather than replace human capabilities
- Emphasis on maintaining human agency and responsibility in AI systems
- Focus on building trust and ethical frameworks

### 3. **Educational Transformation**

- Advocacy for integrating AI into education to enhance learning
- Proposal to use AI as a benchmark for student improvement
- Emphasis on making AI accessible to people from all backgrounds

### 4. **Historical Perspective**

- Frequent references to ImageNet's role in sparking the deep learning revolution
- Context about how rapidly the AI landscape has changed
- Emphasis on collaborative, non-linear progress in scientific advancement

### 5. **Entrepreneurial Vision**

- Insights on building AI companies in the current environment
- Balance between technological innovation and responsible development
- Focus on practical applications that solve real-world problems

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## Key Insights and Predictions

### **Near-Term Developments (1-3 years):**

- Rapid advancement in spatial intelligence and world modeling technologies
- Increased integration of AI in education and creative industries
- Growing focus on AI ethics and governance frameworks
- Expansion of practical applications in healthcare, therapy, and accessibility

### **Medium-Term Vision (3-5 years):**

- More sophisticated human-AI collaboration systems
- Breakthroughs in robotics enabled by spatial intelligence
- Transformation of how we teach and learn with AI assistance
- Development of new industries centered around spatial AI

### **Long-Term Philosophy:**

- AI as a "civilizational technology" that requires thoughtful stewardship
- Emphasis on maintaining human values and agency in technological progress
- Vision of technology that helps humanity "raise above our paleolithic emotions"

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## Conclusion

Dr. Fei-Fei Li's recent podcast appearances reveal a consistent vision: AI should be developed as a human-centered technology that enhances our capabilities rather than replacing them. Her focus has shifted from the foundational work of ImageNet to the next frontier of spatial intelligence through World Labs. Across all conversations, she emphasizes the importance of ethics, education, and maintaining human agency in the age of artificial intelligence.

The timeline shows her evolving role from academic researcher to entrepreneur while maintaining her core philosophy that technology should serve humanity's best interests. Her message remains one of cautious optimism, emphasizing both the tremendous potential and significant responsibilities of developing transformative AI technologies.

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## Sources

1. The Tim Ferriss Show (December 9, 2025)
2. Lenny's Podcast (November 16, 2025)
3. Masters of Scale Summit (November 25, 2025)
4. Possible Podcast (January 15, 2025)
5. Firing Line, PBS (August 15, 2025)
6. Y Combinator Startup Podcast (June 16, 2025)

_Compiled on January 25, 2026_
