Nils Pihl on AI's Great Reversal: Unlocking ROI in Spatial Computing, Decentralized Networks, and the Future of Retail Tech
- Nico Fara
- Jul 15
- 5 min read
This week on The Immergence Show, we were thrilled to host Nils Pihl, the CEO of Auki Labs, who is building the decentralized machine perception network. He is a recognized voice in behavioral engineering, augmented reality, and AI. Pihl shared profound insights into the "great reversal"—the idea that AI is finally coming into our physical world, creating immediate and profitable ROI through spatial computing.
This article distills the key educational takeaways and pivotal insights from our discussion. While we explore the core concepts here, to truly grasp the depth of Pihl's vision, including his fascinating story about using predictive behavioral models to win four consecutive seasons of a competitive video game as a teenager, the full video interview is a must-watch.
Key Themes Explored
The Great Reversal: Why AI’s Future is in the Physical World
A core theme of our discussion was what Nils calls "the great reversal." The prevailing narrative often focuses on humans moving into the metaverse, but the more immediate and impactful revolution is AI coming out of the digital realm and into our physical spaces. Pihl argues that since the vast majority of the global economy is still tied to physical locations and labor, the AI revolution has barely begun. For AI like ChatGPT, its effectiveness is limited to data already on the internet. The next frontier is digitizing the physical world to make it accessible and understandable to artificial intelligence, which is the mission at the heart of Auki Labs.
Key Insight: "70% of the world economy is still tied to physical locations and physical labor. So, you can argue from first principles that the AI revolution can barely have begun yet, because...the physical world is not on the internet."
Pihl’s journey revealed a critical flaw in our modern infrastructure: machines, including our phones and computers, do not truly understand where they are. We are accustomed to GPS, but its accuracy is limited and it fails entirely indoors or in dense "urban canyons" common in modern Asian megacities. This limitation has been a significant roadblock for the future of AR glasses, robotics, and other spatial technologies. This realization wasn't a deterrent but an opportunity: someone needed to build the foundational layer for machines to perceive the physical world accurately.
Key Insight: "My laptop does not know that it's to the right of my phone. It doesn't know any of these things. And that that was going to hold back the future I imagined...But then it made me realize, hold on, this is where the opportunity is. Someone has to build this."
The Privacy Dilemma of Centralized Spatial Computing
The tech giants' solution to the positioning problem is the Visual Positioning System (VPS), a cloud-based service where you send an image of your surroundings and it tells you where you are. Pihl identified this as one of the biggest threats to user privacy our civilization has faced. This model would give centralized entities the ability to know what every user of AR glasses or robotics is looking at, at all times. This concern is not theoretical; Pihl points out that leaders in the space have explicitly stated that their future robots will be a primary source of real-world data.
Key Insight: "[The centralized VPS model] was the biggest threat to user privacy that we've faced as a civilization so far, the ability to know what people are looking at."
To counter this, Auki Labs pioneered a decentralized network of hyper-local visual positioning systems. Instead of a single entity controlling the data, venues can run their own local VPS. This approach not only preserves privacy—the venue already knows you are there, but a global corporation doesn't need to—it is also technically superior. Physical-world applications like AR and robotics demand incredibly low latency, which the cloud cannot provide. By processing on the edge, Auki delivers a higher-performing, more secure, and privacy-preserving solution.
Key Insight: "We should try to build a more privacy-preserving and dignity-preserving solution, and also happen to believe that actually cloud computing is not fit for purpose. So there might be a way to build something that is both technically and ethically superior."
Unlocking Immediate ROI in Retail and Beyond
The discussion moved from the theoretical to the practical, focusing on how spatial computing is already delivering tangible returns. Auki's "Cactus" product allows retailers to create a precise spatial map of their stores, comparing actual product placement with sales data for the first time. The most surprising "killer feature" wasn't shopper navigation, but staff navigation. With high employee turnover, guiding new staff or gig workers for "click and collect" orders is a major pain point. Auki's solution reduced the walking distance for staff by 40% in their first enterprise deployment.
Key Insight: "We demonstrated with our first enterprise client that we could reduce the walking distance for their staff by 40 percent when they were doing click and collect."
Beyond navigation, the system saves significant time on simple task management. By allowing staff to leave virtual "sticky notes" for each other in AR, a pilot program in a large supermarket saved at least 15 minutes per employee, per day, on task handovers alone. All of this is achieved using the phones already in employees' pockets. This focus on practical, immediate ROI is why Auki has scaled so rapidly, signing a single client for 1,300 locations, leapfrogging the rest of the industry by an order of magnitude.
Key Insight: "They told us that it saved them at least 15 minutes per day, per employee, just on task handovers."
Looking Ahead: Nils Pihl's Vision for Hybrid Robotics
Looking to the future, Pihl is most excited about the concept of hybrid robotics. This isn't about fully autonomous robots replacing humans, but about humans equipped with AI co-pilots for physical work. In partnership with smart glasses company Mentra, Auki is developing solutions where an AI sees the world through a retail worker's eyes. For example, a worker can simply look at an empty shelf, and the AI will automatically detect it, identify the product, and report it in 3D space, notifying another colleague with precise AR guidance to restock it. This synergy of AI perception with human locomotion and manipulation is the next massive leap in productivity.
For Pihl's full, unfiltered predictions on where hybrid robotics and decentralized AI are heading – including some truly eye-opening scenarios discussed off-the-cuff – the complete Immergence Show episode is unmissable.
Unlock the Full Strategic Discussion
This article provides a strategic overview, but the magic is in the details! To hear Nils Pihl share the story behind his first enterprise client's stringent data privacy requirements, his step-by-step advice for developers wanting to build on Auki's open-source protocol, and a deeper dive into the future of robotics, and to truly absorb their expertise:
About Your Host & The Immergence Show
Nico Fara is a Business Strategist, Product Marketer, and passionate Community Builder specializing in the vibrant intersection of AI, Gaming, XR, Fashion, and Consumer Tech. With a talent for translating visionary tech into compelling product strategies and fostering thriving, engaged communities, Nico empowers brands to connect authentically with their audiences and drive impactful growth. Explore Nico's insights further by visiting her website or connect on LinkedIn.
About The Immergence Show: Get your weekly dose of community and cutting-edge insights on The Immergence Show, a thriving live community event where innovation in AI, XR, Web3, Gaming, and Retail-Tech meets a deeply engaged global community. We host interactive discussions with industry pioneers, ensuring our audience of creative technologists, entrepreneurs, and brand executives leaves with fresh perspectives and actionable knowledge. Join the live experience every Tuesday at 12 PM EST on LinkedIn, catch up on all past episodes via our YouTube Channel and find more resources on our website.
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