Read by Fei-Fei Li
What books does Fei-Fei Li recommend?
Fei-Fei Li's book recommendations bridge the technical and the humane, much like her push for human-centered artificial intelligence. The Stanford professor who created ImageNet and co-directs the Human-Centered AI Institute reads across the philosophy of mind, medicine, and the literary classics that shaped her youth. This collection of 6 titles is drawn from Stanford HAI's recommended reading list, a book blurb, and her memoir, with themes of philosophy, psychology and human behavior, and science and technology. She praises Peter Godfrey-Smith's Other Minds as "an extraordinary excursion into the philosophy of mind," and calls Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air important for "AI+healthcare researchers to gain that kind of personal empathy." In her memoir she recalls that as a young reader she "devoured the Chinese translations of Western classics" like Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, whose stories "lingered" in her thoughts "like alternate realities."
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness
The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness
byPeter Godfrey-Smith
2016257 Pages“Peter is a former Stanford colleague and a brilliant philosopher of science. But this book is an extraordinary excursion into the philosophy of mind – a thorough exploration of a species in which intelligence arose completely independent of the evolutionary line that produced human intelligence... I have recommended this book to scores of people of all backgrounds, and without exception they find it accessible and deeply rewarding.”
— Fei-Fei Li
Source: Stanford HAI 'Recommended Reading' List
Read by Tim Cook, Eric Topol, Fei-Fei Li and 2 others
byPaul Kalanithi
2016256 Pages(1,300,000)
“This is a Stanford doctor's personal journey through a heroic combat with lung cancer. Also important for AI+healthcare researchers to gain that kind of personal empathy.”
— Fei-Fei Li
Source: Stanford HAI 'Recommended Reading' List
Read by Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Eric Topol and 4 others
The Coming Wave
Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
byMustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar
2023332 Pages“The Coming Wave makes an urgent, compelling case that we must address the potential dangers of AI and other technologies now. It offers a practical framework for how we can manage these powerful new tools and ensure they are used for the benefit of humanity.”
— Fei-Fei Li
Source: Official Book Blurb
Read by Fei-Fei Li
bySimone de Beauvoir
2011832 Pages“I devoured the Chinese translations of Western classics like Le Deuxième Sexe... The stories lingered in my thoughts long after I read their final words, like alternate realities competing with the one I lived in.”
— Fei-Fei Li
Source: The Worlds I See (Memoir)
byCharles Dickens
1859544 Pages(1,011,215)
“I devoured the Chinese translations of Western classics like... A Tale of Two Cities... The stories lingered in my thoughts long after I read their final words, like alternate realities competing with the one I lived in.”
— Fei-Fei Li
Source: The Worlds I See (Memoir)
byAlexandre Dumas
20031276 Pages(1,144,055)
“I devoured the Chinese translations of Western classics like... The Count of Monte Cristo... The stories lingered in my thoughts long after I read their final words.”
— Fei-Fei Li
Source: The Worlds I See (Memoir)
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Fei-Fei Li recommend?
Her 6 recommendations include Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, The Coming Wave, The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, and A Tale of Two Cities.
What is Fei-Fei Li's top book recommendation?
Peter Godfrey-Smith's Other Minds, which she calls "an extraordinary excursion into the philosophy of mind" exploring intelligence that arose "completely independent" of the human evolutionary line.
Where do Fei-Fei Li's book recommendations come from?
They come from Stanford HAI's "Recommended Reading" list, an official blurb for The Coming Wave, and her memoir The Worlds I See, where she recalls the classics she read as a young woman.
Has Fei-Fei Li written any books?
Yes, one: The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI, a 2023 memoir tracing her life and work in artificial intelligence.
Why does Fei-Fei Li recommend When Breath Becomes Air?
She describes it as "a Stanford doctor's personal journey" through lung cancer and calls it important for "AI+healthcare researchers to gain that kind of personal empathy" for the people their work affects.