World models: LLMs are not enough

AI has mastered language, sort of. But the real world is way messier.In this episode of TechFirst, John Koetsier sits down with Kirin Sinha, founder and CEO of Illumix, to explore what comes after large language models: world models, spatial intelligence, and physical AI.They unpack why LLMs alone won’t get us to human-level intelligence, what it actually takes for machines to understand physical space, and how technologies born in augmented reality are now powering robotics, wearables, and real-world AI systems.This conversation goes deep on: • What “world models” really are — and why everyone from Fei-Fei Li to Jeff Bezos is betting on them • Why continuous video and outward-facing cameras are so hard for AI • The perception stack behind robots and smart glasses • Edge vs cloud compute — and why latency and privacy matter more than ever • How AR laid the groundwork for the next generation of physical intelligenceIf you’re building or betting on robotics, smart wearables, AR, or physical AI, this episode explains the infrastructure shift that’s already underway.GuestKirin SinhaFounder & CEO, Illumixhttps://www.illumix.com👉 Subscribe for more deep conversations on technology, AI, and the future:https://techfirst.substack.com00:00 Raising the Bar on “Smart” Devices01:07 Meet Kirin, Founder & CEO of Illumix01:21 What Is a World Model — and Why It Matters02:23 Why LLMs Alone Won’t Lead to AGI03:46 From AR & the Metaverse to Physical AI05:18 AR vs VR vs the Metaverse — Different Problems, Different Futures06:32 Spatial Perception, Scene Understanding, and Contextual Intelligence07:39 Why Continuous Video Is So Hard for Machines08:39 The Camera Flip: From Selfie AI to World-Facing AI09:58 Why Cameras Beat LiDAR for Wearables and Robots10:27 Inside the Perception Stack11:20 Edge vs Cloud Compute in Physical AI12:37 Why On-Device Intelligence Matters for UX13:52 SLMs, Efficiency, and the Limits of “Bigger Is Better”15:11 Knowing What to Run — and When16:06 Intent, Memory, and Real-Time AI Decisions17:32 Physical Intelligence vs Digital Intelligence18:39 Memory Palaces, Spatial Brains, and Human AI19:39 Do We Need New Chips for Humanoid Robots?20:26 How Chip Architectures Will Evolve for Physical AI21:47 Privacy, On-Device Processing, and Trust22:48 Final Thoughts on the Future of World-Aware AI