AI is leaving the browser. It is moving into robots, vehicles, factories, and the data centers and power grids that run them. That shift creates a new economy, and right now most communities are positioned to watch it rather than build it.

This talk makes the case that physical AI is an infrastructure and workforce problem before it is a model problem. Nolan walks through the full stack behind physical AI, from compute and energy to edge devices and the people who keep it running, and shows where the real labor and ownership gaps are. He draws on his work at Microsoft,
building and selling IntelHP to AWS, and training students through AARI who now work inside live infrastructure environments.

Attendees will leave with a clear map of the physical AI stack, an understanding of which roles are hardest to fill and why, and a practical model for how companies, schools, and cities can grow operators instead of importing them. The goal is not AI optimism. It is a plan for who gets to participate.

Format: Keynote or talk, 30–45 min. Level: Introductory to intermediate.