In this episode, we explore the fascinating field of spatial intelligence and why it represents the next frontier of AI.

Join Fei-Fei Li, co-founder of World Labs, and Justin Johnson, computer vision expert and former student of Li's, for an engaging conversation about the evolution of AI from pixels to 3D worlds.

Li and Johnson explain why representing the 3D physical world is at the heart of spatial intelligence. They point out that language models and multimodal language models operate on a one-dimensional representation, which is a natural representation for written language but not for the 3D world. Spatial intelligence, on the other hand, places the three-dimensional nature of the world at the forefront of its representation.

Why is this important? Because a 3D representation allows models to process data differently, produce different kinds of outputs, and tackle different problems.Li also highlights another key difference between language and the 3D world: language is a generated signal, whereas the 3D world exists independently of us. There is a 3D world out there that follows the laws of physics and that has its own structures due to materials. Extracting that information, representing it, and generating it is a fundamentally different problem than processing language.

Spatial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries and applications. Johnson envisions spatially intelligent models being able to generate 3D worlds, enabling immersive experiences for gaming, virtual photography, and education. Li points out that spatial intelligence is essential for augmented and mixed reality devices, which need to understand the 3D physical environment to interact with it effectively. She believes that spatial intelligence could even deprecate the differently sized screens that we currently use because virtual content could be blended seamlessly with the real world.

Finally, spatial intelligence is crucial for robotics because it allows robots to interact with the physical world.World Labs is committed to building the spatial intelligence models that will power these applications. Li and Johnson discuss building their talented team, which consists of world-class experts in engineering, machine learning, generative modeling, data, and computer graphics. They share their vision of building the technology that will make the dreams of spatial intelligence at large a reality.

Get ready to explore the transformative potential of spatial intelligence in shaping the future of AI.