1Andrew NgDeep learning; Coursera and DeepLearning.AIAI expertsUS
A pioneer of deep learning and online education, Andrew Ng co-founded Coursera and DeepLearning.AI, and previously led Google Brain and served as chief scientist at Baidu.
2Fei-Fei LiComputer vision and ImageNet; Stanford HAIAI expertsUS
A computer-vision pioneer who created ImageNet, Fei-Fei Li co-directs the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI.
3Yann LeCunDeep-learning pioneer; Turing AwardAI expertsUS / France
A Turing Award winner and pioneer of convolutional neural networks, Yann LeCun is a foundational figure in modern deep learning.
4Yoshua BengioDeep learning and AI safety; Turing AwardAI expertsCanada
A Turing Award winner and deep-learning pioneer, Yoshua Bengio leads the Mila institute and is a prominent voice on AI safety.
5Andrew YaoTuring laureate; foundations of computing; TsinghuaAI expertsChina
A Turing Award laureate, Andrew Yao is a foundational computer scientist who built a leading computing and AI programme at Tsinghua.
6Kai-Fu LeeAI investor and author of AI SuperpowersAI expertsChina / Taiwan
An AI researcher, investor and author of AI Superpowers, Kai-Fu Lee has led major AI efforts in both the United States and China.
7Anima AnandkumarMachine-learning research; Caltech and NVIDIAAI expertsIndia / US
A professor at Caltech and senior AI research leader, Anima Anandkumar is known for advances in machine learning and AI for science.
8Timnit GebruAI ethics; founder of DAIR; co-founder of Black in AIAI expertsEthiopia / US
A leading voice on AI ethics, Timnit Gebru founded the Distributed AI Research Institute and co-founded Black in AI.
9Ethan MollickApplied generative AI; Co-IntelligenceAI expertsUS
A Wharton professor and author of Co-Intelligence, Ethan Mollick is a widely-followed guide to the practical use of generative AI.
10Gary MarcusAI critique and cognitive scienceAI expertsUS
A cognitive scientist and author, Gary Marcus is a prominent analyst and critic of the limits of current AI.
11Cassie KozyrkovDecision intelligenceAI expertsUS
The former chief decision scientist at Google, Cassie Kozyrkov popularised decision intelligence and the responsible application of AI.
12Vukosi MarivateAfrican-language NLP; Deep Learning Indaba; Lelapa AIAI expertsSouth Africa
A professor at the University of Pretoria, Vukosi Marivate co-founded the Deep Learning Indaba and works on AI and natural language processing for African languages.
13Moustapha CisseAfrican AI; founder of Kera Health; ex-Google AI GhanaAI expertsSenegal
A Senegalese AI researcher, Moustapha Cisse opened an AI lab in Ghana, co-founded Black in AI, and works on AI for health in Africa.
14Ayesha KhannaApplied AI and smart citiesAI expertsSingapore / Pakistan
Co-founder of the advisory firm Addo, Ayesha Khanna advises organisations on applied AI and smart cities.
15Cesar HidalgoCollective learning and applied AI; complexityAI expertsChile
A physicist and data scientist, Cesar Hidalgo studies collective learning and applies AI and complexity science to economic development.
Nominations for the 2027 edition are open.
Know an AI expert who genuinely leads the field? Put them forward for next year's ranking. Anyone can be nominated, including yourself, and every nomination is judged by the panel against the same published criteria.
Nominate an AI expert for 2027