Kai-Fu Lee

Published by Daniel at December 1, 2021

The icon in the AI field, Dr. Lee, worked with prominent technology companies in Silicon Valley and China and led one of the top research labs for AI worldwide...

Kai-Fu Lee is a computer scientist, writer, and businessman born in Taiwan in 1961. He is one of the most distinguished figures in the technology field, particularly in the Chinese industry. He has occupied executive positions in multiple renowned companies, including Apple, Silicon Graphics, Google, and Microsoft. Dr. Fu moved to America in 1973 and attended high school in Tennessee. After completion, he proceeded with his bachelor’s degree in computer science at Columbia University, graduating with summa cum laude honors in 1983. Immediately after, he pursued a Ph.D. in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. During his time in this institution, he gained interest in machine learning, starting with creating a learning-based system. In his doctoral thesis in 1988, he developed the world’s first speaker-independent continuous speech recognition system, Sphinx. He also holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the City University of Hong Kong.(1,2,3)

A mind ahead of its time

Dr. Lee has occupied several rewarding employments, both academically and professionally, during his lifetime. Some distinguished positions include Research Computer Scientist and Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, several positions in Apple, Silicon Graphics (nowadays part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise), Microsoft, and Google Greater China, where he exerted functions as President and Vice President of Engineering.(1,3)

Several positions in Apple, Silicon Graphics (nowadays part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise), Microsoft, and Google Greater China, where he exerted functions as President and Vice President of Engineering.(1,3)

During his years in Apple, his primary focus was researching and developing multimedia and machine processing of speech with major roles in the PlainTalk project and the collective pioneering Apple development project for speech synthesis interphase and recognition. These speech-based developments were later incorporated as built-in features into the MacOS X, setting the foundations for modern speech recognition technology used by Apple in its devices. When moving on to Microsoft, Kai-Fu Lee participated in the building and initial leading of one of the top computer science research labs worldwide, according to MIT Technology Review.(4,5,6)

These speech-based developments were later incorporated as built-in features into the MacOS X, setting the foundations for modern speech recognition technology used by Apple in its devices. When moving on to Microsoft, Kai-Fu Lee participated in the building and initial leading of one of the top computer science research labs worldwide, according to MIT Technology Review.(4,5,6)

Conquering China’s search engine.

Later in his life, after overcoming a corporative issue between marketing competitors Google and Microsoft, Dr. Lee became the President of Google Greater China and was responsible for launching the local branch of the search engine Google.cn (and later transferred to Hong Kong domains due to political reasons). During his years working in the AI field of these major companies, he has been a mentor for a long list of scientists dedicated to AI. Later on, they became leaders of deep learning at Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Haier, and Huawei.(1,3,7)

A comprehensive vision of two worlds.

Another prominent area of his life is his passion for writing. Dr. Lee has written two books on speech recognition, and he is the author of seven best-seller books in Chinese. In 2011, he wrote his autobiography Making a World of Difference and has more than sixty articles in computer science under his name. In 2018 he wrote a book called AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. In this book, he described China’s capacity to become the leader of innovative AI worldwide due to demographic factors and the enormous data sets they possess, allowing them to outclass other nations, including the United States. As part of his writing eagerness, he created a Website to inspire young Chinese people to be encouraged toward their studies and careers. With such popularity, he has been cataloged as one of the most successful micro-bloggers in China, having more than 51 million followers on the web Sina Weibo.(8,9)

In this book, he described China’s capacity to become the leader of innovative AI worldwide due to demographic factors and the enormous data sets they possess, allowing them to outclass other nations, including the United States. As part of his writing eagerness, he created a Website to inspire young Chinese people to be encouraged toward their studies and careers. With such popularity, he has been cataloged as one of the most successful micro-bloggers in China, having more than 51 million followers on the web Sina Weibo.(8,9)

The human perspective.

Dr.Lee has been extensively working on artificial intelligence research for thirty years. He is considered a pioneer in the field and part of the most prominent technology investor in China. In 2018 he served as a speaker in a TED Talk. In this presentation, Dr. Lee addressed one of the major concerns of artificial intelligence: the replacement of humans by machines. He stated that even when AI is working at total capacity, it will not show empathy or creativity. “AI is here to liberate us from routine jobs, and it is here to remind us what it is that makes us humans.” He emphasized his position on developing deep learning as the main tool worldwide for this purpose.(10)

In this presentation, Dr. Lee addressed one of the major concerns of artificial intelligence: the replacement of humans by machines. He stated that even when AI is working at total capacity, it will not show empathy or creativity. “AI is here to liberate us from routine jobs, and it is here to remind us what it is that makes us humans.” He emphasized his position on developing deep learning as the main tool worldwide for this purpose.(10)

AI bet on Healthcare.

More recently, in July of 2020, he discussed his point of view on AI development during the pandemic with TIME and WIRED magazine. He stated that the United States is catching up with China in AI adoption, and nowadays, with the current worldwide epidemiological situation, the data that empowers deep learning is building up as more people are online, which contributes to the digitization of the content of meetings and increasing the amount of training data for AI. In his final position, he said that the next big project to be supported by AI is the healthcare system, and a huge part of the investment in AI technology is being deposited in this area. Furthermore, he believes that computer programs have been a major tool to follow social distancing, contact tracing, e-commerce, and some drug discovery contributions. Dr. Lee mentioned that this technology has been less successful in developing a vaccine; however, he suggested that AI could be more accurate with predictions in future pandemics.(11,12)

AI development revolution.

Currently, Dr. Lee is the Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures and the President of this company’s AI Institute. He is determined to strengthen the Chinese high-tech industry further. He is also the Co-Chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council for the World Economic Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He has authored 10 US patents and has been named one of the most influential people worldwide by the TIMES 100 list in 2013, WIRED 25 Icons in 2018, and the Asian Business Leader by Asia House in 2018.(3,12,13)