AI competition moves from predicting text to understanding the real world

AI competition is shifting from predicting text tokens to predicting the real world. Chen Boyuan, head of the World Model Innovation Center at the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, stated that AI is entering a "physical intelligence era." World models are becoming crucial infrastructure for connecting AI with the real economy and a new focus for global AI competition. This shift requires AI to understand physical reality, not just virtual information, enabling prediction, decision-making, and action in complex environments.