The Godmother of AI says young talent is ‘overfocusing’ on every detail of their career

• Fei-Fei Li urged young AI talent to focus on passion and mission over minute details.
• Li is a Stanford computer science professor and the CEO of AI company World Labs.
• Industry leaders highlight creativity, adaptability, and soft skills in AI career success.

Young AI talent is overthinking too many aspects of their careers, says the Godmother of AI.

"I do find many of the young people today think about every single aspect of an equation when they decide on jobs at some point," Fei-Fei Li said on an episode of "Lenny's Podcast" released on Sunday.

Li is a longtime Stanford computer science professor famous for inventing ImageNet. Last year, she cofounded World Labs, a company building AI models to perceive, generate, and interact with 3D environments.

On the podcast, she said it's a "privilege" to receive applications from young AI engineers and researchers who want to work at World Labs.

"But sometimes I do want to encourage young people to focus on what's important because I find myself constantly in mentoring mode when I talk to job candidates," she said. "Not necessarily recruiting, but just in mentoring mode."

She added that she sees young talent "overfocusing on every minute decision" instead of asking themselves the most important questions like: "Where's your passion? Do you align with the mission? Do you believe and have faith in this team?"

"Just focus on the impact you can make and the kind of work and team you can you can work with," she said.

Li joins other tech and AI leaders who have been touting the value of soft skills such as creativity and passion over technical details.

Liang Wenfeng, the founder of the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek, has said he favors creativity over experience.

"If you are pursuing short-term goals, it is right to find people with ready experience," he said in a 2023 interview with 36KR, a Chinese tech publication. "But if you look at the long-term, experience is not that important. Basic skills, creativity, and passion are much more important. From this perspective, there are many suitable candidates in China."

Last month, Ryan Roslansky, the CEO of LinkedIn, said that initiative and adaptability will be more valuable in the future as companies incorporate AI in the workplace.

"My guess is that the future of work belongs not anymore to the people that have the fanciest degrees or went to the best colleges, but to the people who are adaptable, forward thinking, ready to learn, and ready to embrace these tools," Roslansky said at a fireside chat at the company's office.