Fei-Fei Li, often celebrated as the ‘Godmother of AI’, has voiced a growing concern that the newest generation of artificial intelligence researchers and engineers is becoming increasingly prone to overanalyzing every facet of their professional choices. She observes that many emerging talents in the AI community seem paralyzed by the sheer number of considerations they weigh when making career decisions. Rather than moving forward decisively, they often dwell excessively on hypothetical scenarios or meticulously calculate every possible outcome before taking action.
During her recent appearance on *Lenny’s Podcast*, Li elaborated on this phenomenon, reflecting that she frequently encounters young individuals who approach job decisions as if they were solving a complex mathematical equation—painstakingly evaluating every single variable. Li, a distinguished Stanford computer science professor with a legacy that includes co-creating ImageNet, has long been a defining figure in the evolution of computer vision and large-scale data-driven AI. In 2023, she extended her pioneering career by cofounding World Labs, an organization developing advanced AI systems capable of perceiving, generating, and interacting seamlessly with dynamic three-dimensional environments.
On the podcast, Li expressed both admiration and a gentle critique of today’s young AI professionals. She emphasized that receiving applications from aspiring engineers and researchers eager to contribute to World Labs is a genuine privilege and a source of inspiration. However, she also confessed that she frequently finds herself unintentionally stepping into a mentoring role rather than a purely recruiting one. Speaking with these candidates, she often feels compelled to guide them away from the endless cycle of overthinking and instead help them rediscover their underlying motivations and purpose.
Li explained that she frequently witnesses promising young minds fixating on trivial or secondary details—such as precise job titles, early promotion paths, or hypothetical trade-offs—while neglecting deeper, more enduring questions. Instead, she believes candidates should be asking themselves what truly drives their curiosity and sense of fulfillment: Where does their passion genuinely lie? Do they connect with the broader mission of the company? Can they place their trust and confidence in the team they might join? For Li, such reflections hold far greater importance than obsessing over the intricate details of compensation structures or organizational hierarchies.
Her guidance to young technologists is therefore refreshingly simple yet profoundly insightful: focus on the kind of impact you wish to make, the real-world value of your contributions, and the people with whom you hope to collaborate. Li’s message serves as a reminder that long-term career satisfaction in AI—or in any field—emerges from aligning with purpose, vision, and collective creativity, not from chasing external perfection.
Li’s comments align with a broader conversation within the technology industry, where influential leaders continue to stress the importance of creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence alongside technical expertise. Liang Wenfeng, the founder of China’s DeepSeek AI lab, similarly remarked that creativity often outweighs accumulated experience. In a 2023 interview with the technology publication 36KR, Liang explained that organizations focused on immediate goals may prefer hiring those with substantial experience, but companies looking toward long-term innovation should prioritize imaginative potential, foundational knowledge, and enthusiasm. From that perspective, he noted, there exists a wealth of exceptional candidates eager to innovate in China’s expansive AI ecosystem.
Echoing these sentiments, LinkedIn’s CEO Ryan Roslansky recently emphasized that qualities such as initiative and adaptability will become even more valuable as the integration of AI transforms workplaces worldwide. He predicted that the evolving nature of modern work will privilege individuals who exhibit curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to learn over those who merely possess prestigious degrees or elite academic credentials. According to Roslansky, the future belongs to those who think ahead, embrace new tools, and continuously reinvent themselves in an environment increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
Together, these perspectives—the mentorship-driven outlook of Fei-Fei Li, the creative prioritization advocated by Liang Wenfeng, and the adaptive mindset championed by Ryan Roslansky—paint a coherent picture of where the AI industry is heading. The next wave of success, they suggest, will belong not to those fixated on perfecting plans in theory, but to those willing to act decisively, learn dynamically, and commit wholeheartedly to meaningful missions that extend beyond personal advancement. In essence, Li’s call for young AI professionals to stop overthinking is not an encouragement of carelessness, but an invitation to rediscover the joy of purposeful, passionate creation in an ever-evolving field.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/fei-fei-li-career-advice-young-talent-ai-engineers-researchers-2025-11
