Vivienne Ming Quotes

Powerful Vivienne Ming for Daily Growth

About Vivienne Ming

Vivienne Ming is a renowned cognitive neuroscientist, technology entrepreneur, and thought leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and human potential. Born on October 16, 1983, she was raised in California by adoptive parents who instilled in her a deep appreciation for education and intellectual curiosity. Ming's unique life experiences have significantly shaped her work and perspectives. Diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, she struggled academically but found solace in computers and mathematics. This early exposure to technology ignited a lifelong passion that would eventually lead her to pursue a career in AI. After earning a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from Carleton College, Ming went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Southern California. Her research focused on understanding how the brain processes information, a skill that she now applies to AI development. In 2010, Ming co-founded Socos, an AI company aimed at improving human decision-making in organizations. She has also been involved with several other tech startups, including Blackbox Vision and Bighug Technologies. Ming is known for her insightful quotes that challenge conventional wisdom and encourage people to think differently about technology and its impact on society. Here are a few of her most notable quotes: - "The most important thing you can do on the internet is not to create content. It's to curate your attention." - "If artificial intelligence is going to be used for the benefit of humanity, it has to be used by humans." - "We are training our algorithms to mimic human biases if we don't watch them." Ming continues to push boundaries in AI research and development, striving to create technology that enhances human capabilities rather than replacing them. Her work serves as a reminder of the potential for artificial intelligence to transform society, but also of the need for vigilance in its development and application.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

The quote by Vivienne Ming, "The best way to predict your future is to create it," emphasizes the power we have in shaping our own destinies. It suggests that rather than passively waiting for events to unfold, we should actively engage in shaping the course of our lives through our actions and decisions. This perspective encourages proactivity, self-determination, and resilience in the face of uncertainty, as it highlights the potential impact of each individual's efforts on their future outcomes.


"Innovation is the product of constraints."

Vivienne Ming's quote suggests that limitations or constraints can serve as a catalyst for innovation, as they push us to think creatively and find solutions within those boundaries. In other words, when we are faced with challenges or resources that seem scarce, we are forced to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas to overcome these obstacles. This is often seen in fields such as technology, science, and business, where constraints like budget limitations, resource scarcity, or market competition drive inventors and entrepreneurs to create new solutions and breakthroughs.


"You can't learn everything you need to know, but you can learn how to learn anything."

This quote by Vivienne Ming emphasizes that it is impossible for individuals to know everything, yet they have the capacity to acquire new knowledge and skills. The message encourages a mindset of continuous learning, implying that anyone can learn any subject if they are equipped with the right learning strategies. In essence, it's not about accumulating all the information, but rather becoming proficient in finding and utilizing relevant resources for self-education.


"The most important thing we can teach children is to think for themselves."

Vivienne Ming's quote emphasizes the significance of fostering independent thought in children, as this skill equips them with the ability to question, analyze, and make informed decisions about their lives and the world around them. Encouraging self-thinking in children empowers them to develop their own ideas, solve problems creatively, and become critical thinkers. This vital life skill helps them navigate complex situations, adapt to changes, and contribute positively to society as independent, innovative individuals.


"To make a difference, start by being different."

This quote emphasizes the idea that in order to effect change or make a significant impact, one must first set themselves apart from the status quo. It suggests that uniqueness, originality, and nonconformity can be powerful catalysts for positive transformation. Essentially, Vivienne Ming encourages us to embrace our individuality as a means of contributing something truly valuable and distinctive to the world around us.


The tax on being different is massive.

- Vivienne Ming

Tax, Being, Massive, Being Different

Because of the tax on being different, individual actors in the labour market from different backgrounds can rationally value the same opportunities differently.

- Vivienne Ming

Individual, Rationally, Being Different

The tax on being different is largely implicit. People need not act maliciously for it to be levied. In fact, at its heart is a laudable sentiment: 'prove it to me.' The problem is that we are requiring different levels of proof without realising it.

- Vivienne Ming

Fact, Implicit, Sentiment, Being Different

There are neural networks that can build whole apps from scratch - so why are we teaching high school kids to code?

- Vivienne Ming

Why, Code, Neural, School Kids

Estrogen's a wonderful thing. I'd be doing the dishes and suddenly be like, 'Wait a minute - why am I crying?'

- Vivienne Ming

Doing, Wait, Like, Crying

The bias tax is actually a loss in economy.

- Vivienne Ming

Loss, Tax, Actually, Bias

AI might be a powerful technology, but things won't get better simply by adding AI.

- Vivienne Ming

Powerful, Better, Might, AI

It's important to me that talking about my experience not undermine those who choose differently. There can be a stigma for people who don't take the path I did, as though not having surgery means you're not really transitioning. No one should feel as though it's everything or nothing.

- Vivienne Ming

Feel, About, Stigma, Surgery

If you have a diverse workforce, then you have a much better chance of picking up on things that a lack of diversity would hide from them.

- Vivienne Ming

Chance, Them, Then, Workforce

Discrimination is not done by villains. It's done by us.

- Vivienne Ming

Done, Us, Villains, Discrimination

In 1958, my father graduated from secondary school as the highest-achieving student in the state of Kansas, earning a five-year scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He turned it down. For someone raised in a remote farming town, this would have been his opportunity to transform his life, a ticket to a bigger world.

- Vivienne Ming

Student, Been, Turned, Secondary

My body became aligned with my identity, and it was profound.

- Vivienne Ming

Identity, Profound, Became, Aligned

If you tell someone, 'Hey, your daughter is going to win a Nobel Prize someday,' it makes it less likely. If you say, 'Your son is in danger of dropping out in the ninth grade,' it could make it more likely.

- Vivienne Ming

Tell, Danger, Your, Nobel Prize

When I went back to finish my undergrad, after a long and ignoble absence, my very first class was Intro to C for Cognitive Modeling. Unlike any educational experience before, I aced the class.

- Vivienne Ming

Modeling, Before, Very, First Class

Passing on a full scholarship to MIT would be irrational for me, but to my father and his parents, what would have been the point of spending five years at one of the world's most prestigious universities if he just ended up back on the farm?

- Vivienne Ming

Father, Back, Been, Passing

Gender transition isn't about gender. It's about literally making yourself a better person because you know that's a better you.

- Vivienne Ming

Gender, Making, Literally, Transition

I have had a small handful of truly blatantly discriminatory experiences for being transgender, but the vast majority are simply the differences between being a man versus being a woman in science and business.

- Vivienne Ming

Business, Woman, Small, Versus

Looking at where you went to school is a proxy; you assume, because someone went to a good school, therefore they must have the qualities you desire, even though that's not actually really true.

- Vivienne Ming

Good, Desire, Though, Assume

Who wants to get a worse diagnosis of their cancer, just to keep a human doctor in the job?

- Vivienne Ming

Doctor, Get, Keep, Diagnosis

After I transitioned, a lot of people said, 'I like you so much more now,' because before, I was unhappy. Making that change was a big part of becoming me. Whoever you are, as a gay man or a lesbian or a trans woman, embrace it. Turn it into an asset.

- Vivienne Ming

Big, Becoming, Big Part, Lesbian

Before I came out, people always asked me math questions. But once I became a woman, they stopped. There's unintended discrimination.

- Vivienne Ming

Always, Became, Stopped, Discrimination

I want to literally make people smarter by jamming things in their brains.

- Vivienne Ming

Brains, Jamming, Literally, Smarter

Human behavior is an enormously complex set of things, and that mixture of underlying things is different for different people, so it's not just complex, it's meta-complex.

- Vivienne Ming

Different People, Set, Human Behavior

If a hero is a person on which you've made an explicit choice model yourself, mine is my father for showing me how to live a life of substance.

- Vivienne Ming

Made, Which, Mine, Explicit

Why did I go back to school? After working with giant snails as the manager of an abalone farm, who wouldn't be fascinated with the inner workings of the mind? They are a very contemplative species.

- Vivienne Ming

Mind, Manager, Very, Farm

I'm not enthusiastic about educational games or apps generally.

- Vivienne Ming

Games, About, Educational, Enthusiastic

What drives success, and the most successful students, is internal motivation.

- Vivienne Ming

Most, Internal, Drives, Successful

Once you identify the intrinsically motivated people, you realize that fancy degrees can actually be a negative - that some of the people who have them are more focused on how others perceive them.

- Vivienne Ming

Fancy, Some, Motivated, Perceive

We are bad at valuing other people, and we are worse the more different they are than us.

- Vivienne Ming

Bad, More, Other, Valuing

If my son came to me years from now and told me, 'I'm gay,' I'd say, 'That's wonderful. I'm so glad you know who you are.' But if he said, 'I want to be a woman,' I would say, 'Ahhh. This is gonna be hard. Let's get started.' Because it doesn't matter that that's where happiness lies - it's on the other side of a lot of struggle.

- Vivienne Ming

Woman, Matter, Other, Glad

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