Three influential Chinese scientists honored for lifetime achievement

Aside from the three, Li Fei-Fei, a top artificial intelligence scientist from Stanford University, took home the event's award to honor most influential figure in the field of science.

The awards have six categories in total. Besides lifetime achievement, the event also honors outstanding individuals in public affairs, art and culture, and competitive sports as well as recognizing emerging young talent.

As the director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab, Li expressed her gratitude for being a scientist and invited young people worldwide to engage in the study of artificial intelligence.

"I am lucky to be a drop of water in the long-winding river of scientific development that originates from the pursuit of truth and innovation and leads to the wonderland of the unknown," said Li.

Born in Beijing in 1976, Li moved to New Jersey with her family when she was 16. During her early years as an immigrant, she worked at the cash register at Chinese restaurants and cleaned houses to help her family get by, while learning English from scratch and excelling at high school studies.

Graduating in the top 5 percent of her class, Li went to Princeton University on scholarship. While she was in college, she borrowed money to buy a dry cleaning business for her parents, who were still struggling financially. Li attended classes on weekdays and helped at the dry cleaners on the weekends. When she was in graduate school, her mother had cancer and was hit by a stroke.

In the face of daunting difficulties, Li was determined to pursue her dream of obtaining a PhD, for which she turned down offers from Goldman Sachs and McKinsey.

Addressing concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on human lives, Li emphasized that artificial intelligence is a new technology, and the machines' current capability is a far cry from what may have been described in art and literature. However, it is the responsibility of humanity to ponder how technology can change our society.

"Machines don't have their own value system," said Li. "It is human value systems that they represent."