Silicon Valley founders and AI startups are increasingly placing less emphasis on degrees and instead looking for candidates who can work quickly, adapt and build AI models.
Li Feifei, Stanford University professor and CEO of artificial intelligence startup world laboratoryKnown as the “Godmother of Artificial Intelligence” for her commitment to building artificial intelligence large database The emergence of tagged images has changed the way computers understand digital images and videos.
Lee, who is also the founding co-director of Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, said she values candidates’ experience and relationship with AI tools more than their educational background.
“When we interview software engineers, I personally feel that their academic qualifications are less important to us now,” Li said explain in an interview about the talent search process for her AI startup the tim ferris show This week.
“Now, it’s more about what you learn, what tools you use, and how quickly you can enhance your ability to use those tools — a lot of which are artificial intelligence tools,” she added. “Your mindset about using these tools is more important to me.”
Discussing the broader impact of artificial intelligence on education and the labor market, Li said assessing qualified workers used to rely on which school a job seeker graduated from and what degree they earned. But “that’s going to change as AI becomes more accessible,” she said.
Regarding her own talent acquisition, Lee added that she wouldn’t hire software engineers who don’t “embrace AI collaboration software tools.” She explains that this request is not because she believes AI software tools are perfect, but because she believes they demonstrate a person’s ability to grow with rapidly evolving technology and that they are able to use AI to their benefit.
Lee’s views on AI skills and its value proposition compared to college degrees echo similar sentiments from other leaders in the industry.
In October, Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg, explain Skills are more important than a flashy college degree when recruiting at Meta, but he noted that entry-level positions at his company still require a bachelor’s degree.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp even challenged The value of a college education A four-year paid internship program was recently launched for young entrepreneurs who have not gone to college, allowing them to learn by doing,”Skip the debt, skip the indoctrination“.
As more tech leaders look for candidates who are proficient in artificial intelligence, Lee is looking for candidates who can help achieve the company’s mission.
The goal of WorldLab is to build artificial intelligence capable of processing and replicating the three-dimensional world through spatial reasoning—a feat that will once again revolutionize technology. plum self-reliance Since then alone, the startup has been valued at over $1 billion four months,according to financial times.
As he works toward the next artificial intelligence breakthrough, Li explain Artificial intelligence can change the world and “everyone who cares” should have a seat at the table in technological change, according to Fortune’s 2024 Most Powerful Women Summit.
“It’s really important that people from all backgrounds feel like they have a role to play,” Lee said.