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Beyond the spectacle: Real-world autonomy While high-profile demonstrations – like Hyundai Motor Company’ s robot performing at the FIFA World Cup 2026 – help introduce the public to physical AI, real-world deployment is far more complex than a choreographed showcase.
“ You don’ t get to see that robot in a different scenario,” Pascal explains.“ It’ s doing actions that are pre-recorded, meaning that it’ s perfect but only at performing those moves. But if anything happens, it can only do what it is being recorded for.”
Because these machines are locked to pre-programmed routines, they cannot respond dynamically to changes in their immediate environment. True physical AI demands adaptive intelligence.
“ Physical AI for me is when AI, especially agentic AI, meets the physical world,” Pascal asserts.“ It’ s not just robots by the way, it can be any autonomous device or sensor that has some link to the physical world.”
Illustrating the inherent unpredictability of real-world deployment, Pascal points to autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, California, citing two contrasting edge cases: an overly cautious robotaxi that froze for two hours near an accident scene
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