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 intelligence If you’re building or betting on robotics, smart wearables, AR, or physical AI, this episode explains the infrastructure shift that’s already underway. Guest Kirin Sinha Founder & CEO, Illumix https://www.illumix.com 👉 Subscribe for more deep conversations on technology, AI, and the future: https://techfirst.substack.com 00:00 Raising the Bar on “Smart” Devices 01:07 Meet Kirin, Founder & CEO of Illumix 01:21 What Is a World Model — and Why It Matters 02:23 Why LLMs Alone Won’t Lead to AGI 03:46 From AR & the Metaverse to Physical AI 05:18 AR vs VR vs the Metaverse — Different Problems, Different Futures 06:32 Spatial Perception, Scene Understanding, and Contextual Intelligence 07:39 Why Continuous Video Is So Hard for Machines 08:39 The Camera Flip: From Selfie AI to World-Facing AI 09:58 Why Cameras Beat LiDAR for Wearables and Robots 10:27 Inside the Perception Stack 11:20 Edge vs Cloud Compute in Physical AI 12:37 Why On-Device Intelligence Matters for UX 13:52 SLMs, Efficiency, and the Limits of “Bigger Is Better” 15:11 Knowing What to Run — and When 16:06 Intent, Memory, and Real-Time AI Decisions 17:32 Physical Intelligence vs Digital Intelligence 18:39 Memory Palaces, Spatial Brains, and Human AI 19:39 Do We Need New Chips for Humanoid Robots? 20:26 How Chip Architectures Will Evolve for Physical AI 21:47 Privacy, On-Device Processing, and Trust 22:48 Final Thoughts on the Future of World-Aware AI