AI pioneer Andrew Ng urged new University of Exeter alumni to “build what matters” as they were honoured for their work in transforming machine learning and online education.
Dr. Andrew Ng is the general partner of the AI Fund, executive director of Landingai, co-founder of Coursera, and founder of Deeplearning.ai, an adjunct professor at Stanford University.
With his honorary degree, he told students that the world needs “energy, ideas, compassion” and “never stop learning.” The most meaningful careers build on service and contribution, so they need to “focus on impact.”
He states: “The world is changing so rapidly that the tools we are using in five years may not exist today.
“I hope you take the risk. Some of the most rewarding things I'm fortunate to be honest and a little scary at the time. Many friends advised me not to do that, but they couldn't predict.
“Focusing on impact, success isn't just about personal accomplishments. It's about helping others. Think about how your work will affect the people around you.”
As a pioneer in machine learning and online education, Dr. NG has changed countless lives through his work at AI. Over 8 million people have taken AI classes from him. He was the founding lead of the Google Brain team, helping Google transform into a modern AI company. He served as VP & Chief Scientist at Baidu, where he led the company's 1,300-person AI team responsible for AI technology and strategy. He was previously the director of Stanford AI Labs and had over 20 faculty and research groups. In 2023, he was named to the Time100 AI list of the most influential AI in the world.
Dr. Ng is currently focused primarily on AI training delivery and entrepreneurial ventures, looking for the best ways to globally accelerate responsible AI adoption.
He has written over 200 papers in AI and related fields and holds B.Sc. CMU, M.Sc from MIT and PhD from Berkeley, California.
