Why the 'Godmother of AI' is Tackling Physics Now
World Labs co-founder and CEO Fei-Fei Li on why AI 's next frontier is spatial intelligence
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This is an AI-assisted summary of my Fortt Knox Update with World Labs CEO Fei-Fei Li. View the full interview here:
In a wide-ranging conversation, Fei-Fei Li, CEO of World Labs, frames artificial intelligence not as a single product cycle but as a “civilizational technology” whose impact will touch every sector of society. Li reflects on how quickly modern AI has advanced, exceeding even optimistic expectations from longtime researchers, and explains why that acceleration carries both excitement and responsibility.
A central theme is inclusion. Li argues that AI must be shaped by the participation of the entire global population, not just a narrow set of voices. AI systems are increasingly modeling the world through language, perception, and decision-making; in that process, culture, context and lived experience matter. Localization isn’t just about translating language models; it’s about embedding cultural nuance and situational understanding so that entire regions and communities are not left out of the AI future.
Li then turns to World Labs’ core mission: moving beyond text-centric AI toward spatial intelligence. Drawing on her roots in computer vision, she describes spatial and perceptual intelligence as foundational to how humans live and work. This is reasoning about the physical world, interacting with objects and understanding cause and effect in three dimensions and over time. World Labs is building frontier models that can reason, generate and interact in 3D and 4D environments, enabling applications from robotics and simulation to design, education, healthcare, manufacturing and gaming.
Gaming and interactive experiences are an early proving ground. Li notes that developers are already using World Labs’ first released model to prototype new kinds of interactive worlds, offering a glimpse of how spatial AI could reshape creativity and embodied digital experiences over the next decade.
“We released our first model and a prototype of our product called Marble by World Labs. Already there are so many gaming developers using these tools, and having fun, and showing us the right now, still smaller, not AAA-level games they’re making.”
Highlights
Li describes AI’s recent progress as breathtaking, even for longtime insiders
She emphasizes responsibility alongside innovation as AI reshapes society
Inclusion means global participation, not just representation at the margins
Localization goes beyond language to culture, context, and shared experience
AI’s reach is compared to computing itself: everywhere there is a chip, there will be AI
World Labs focuses on spatial intelligence, not just language models
Spatial AI reflects how humans reason, act, and interact in the physical world
Applications span robotics, simulation, design, education, and healthcare
Gaming is an early, natural fit for spatial and embodied AI models
Early developer adoption signals creative momentum for World Labs’ approach
If you’d like to join me – and peers – for deeper conversations on innovation and leadership, get on this list for Fortt Knox Executive Communities, launching soon: mba.fortt.com.