AI “world models” are the next frontier for computer scientists who see too many limitations in the AI language models behind popular chatbots. The field is attracting top scientists like “Godmother of AI” Fei-Fei Li and Yann LeCun. They believe AI should learn the statistical structure of space and time, not just text. There’s still plenty of money to be made from AI chatbots — investors are counting on it as they commit trillions of dollars to leading developers like Anthropic and OpenAI. But a growing number of AI entrepreneurs are dedicating themselves to models that teach AI systems how to react in a physical environment.