--- description: Find out why Fei-Fei Li made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence. title: TIME100 AI 2025: Fei-Fei Li image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt553eec2fe2603217/6998c9261f67096dd4f56a80/Fei-Fei-Li.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 26, 2025 # Fei-Fei Li Co-director, Stanford HAI and CEO, World Labs by [Andrew R. Chow](/author/andrew-r-chow/) ## Andrew R. Chow Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Courtesy Photo) Known as the "Godmother of AI," Fei-Fei Li played a foundational role in the creation of AI image-recognition systems during the ’00s, which helped spur the deep learning revolution. Today Li is the co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, a leading research institution. From that perch, the computer scientist has helped shape global AI governance—beginning with California, the world’s tech capital. After Governor Gavin Newsom [vetoed](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/29/governor-newsom-announces-new-initiatives-to-advance-safe-and-responsible-ai-protect-californians/ "undefined") the state’s AI safety bill, SB 1047, he tapped Li to co-author a report about AI policy. Published in June, [the report](https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/June-17-2025-%E2%80%93-The-California-Report-on-Frontier-AI-Policy.pdf "undefined") put forward research-informed recommendations for the governance of generative AI, including new guardrails that would require more transparency in AI development, rigorous standards for independent oversight, and protections for whistleblowers connected to the tech. The proposals could soon make their way into law: State Senator Scott Wiener praised the paper, and [said](https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/senator-wiener-responds-top-experts-final-report-ai-governance-framework "undefined") in a statement that he was considering which parts of it to incorporate into his new AI legislation. In September 2024, Li and three colleagues raised $230 million for World Labs, from investors including Geoffrey Hinton. The startup she leads aims to create Large World Models that perceive and analyze the 3D world in the same way that large language models like ChatGPT understand language. These models, the group hopes, will allow people to imagine and create 3D spaces that could be roamed and explored like a video game—with potential applications like flight training simulations, physics experiments, or urban planning. In the last year, Li has also delivered key speeches at the Paris AI Action Summit and Asia Tech x Singapore; published [landmark reports](https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2025-ai-index-report "undefined") evaluating AI’s influence on society; and [warned](https://observer.com/2025/05/fei-fei-li-research-cuts-us-ecosystem/ "undefined") publicly that federal cuts to university research would harm the U.S. tech ecosystem. In February, she [won](https://qeprize.org/news/2025-queen-elizabeth-prize-for-engineering-awarded-for-modern-machine-learning "undefined") the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. _Disclosure: Investors in World Labs include TIME owner and co-chair Marc Benioff and Salesforce, where he is CEO._ Fei-Fei Li: The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305810/fei-fei-li/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305810/fei-fei-li/"},"headline":"Fei-Fei Li","datePublished":"2025-08-26T18:56:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:41.310Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2025/7305810/fei-fei-li/","keywords":["Tech","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","TIME100 AI 2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt553eec2fe2603217/6998c9261f67096dd4f56a80/Fei-Fei-Li.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew R. 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