“AI’s Next Stage Is the Real World”: Applied Intuition Puts Intelligence Into Billion-Dollar Machines

Artificial intelligence is leaving the screen. After three years in which chatbots dominated the conversation, the next major contest is moving into the physical world, where cars drive, trucks haul cargo, excavators dig and tractors work fields.

That field, known as physical AI, is often associated with humanoid robots. But the first machines to receive intelligence on a large scale are more likely to have wheels. Nearly 100 million new cars are produced worldwide each year, alongside tens of millions of trucks, construction and mining machines, and agricultural vehicles operating in the field.

A significant share of these machines is already being developed on software from a Silicon Valley company. Applied Intuition’s co-founder and CEO, Qasar Younis, discussed the company and the sector in an interview.

The competitive rules also differ from those of chatbots. If a chatbot gives a wrong answer, a user can ask again. Machines operating on roads, construction sites or farms face a different standard because their intelligence must function in the physical world. The article identifies that shift as AI’s next battleground.